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January 29, 2014

75 cents Teller County, Colorado | Volume 53, Issue 5 A publication of

pikespeakcourier.net

Frustrations expressed at board meeting By Pat Hill

phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com In a contentious meeting of the Green Mountain Falls town board on Jan. 21, trustee Howard Price railed against expenses incurred by former marshal Tim Bradley, who resigned in November with a severance package of $12,000. Since that time, the marshal’s office has been closed and law enforcement taken over by El Paso County Sheriff’s office. Commenting on the transfer of responsibilities, Price expressed his anger. “El Paso County sheriff’s office is in possession of the Green Mountain Falls’ marshal’s computer,” Price said. “They will be returning it after they have officially downloaded all the pertinent information relative to their needs.”

Then Price spoke about the computer he’d donated to Bradley’s office. “The marshal couldn’t get it to work, said there was a paper clip in it, which was a bunch of hooey,” Price said. Price, who owns a media company, enlisted a technology team to look at the computer, which Bradley had returned. “The computer had been opened up, plugs had been pulled out, the mother board had been burned,” he said. “Someone tried to take the hard drive information from the marshal’s computer and load it back over to the computer that I’d donated.” However, there was a problem with the downloading. “According to the sheriff’s office they had done it illegally because they were not authorized to get into that computer,” Price said. “You can’t just have somebody go in and start downloading

classified information. The sheriff’s office is very upset about it.” Price also expressed his concern. “It cost me $1,100 to fix that computer. There was nothing on it but I can tell you that four ‘gigs’ of memory was burned up and a couple of the wires were broken,” Price said. “It was not like that when it was given to the marshal. I am extremely furious about this.” Mayor Lorrie Worthey asked for clarification on the two machines. “The computer now in El Paso County was the marshal’s machine,” he said. “I am not allowed to touch it — nobody is.” But that isn’t the only thing Price discussed. The 2004 Chevy Tahoe, for instance, cost $1,200 to get it operating again. “Transmission was shot, four-wheel drive was shot. Car was run into the ground.”

Father and son headed to Super Bowl

now filed certified copies Sheryl Decker

By Danny Summers

City files, county counters

Dsummers@coloradocommunitymedia.com

POSTAL ADDRESS

‘Woodland Park has of their ordinance.’

Howie and Mike Schommer will be cheering for their beloved Broncos

When the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks clash in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, Woodland Park’s own Howie Schommer and his son, Mike, will be in section 100 at MetLife Stadium rooting for the orange and blue. “It’s been a lifelong dream of ours,” Howie said. “It’s definitely the most money we’ve ever spent on a vacation.” Howie, 58, and Mike, 30, have been Broncos season ticket holders for four years. They’ve seen each of the four Broncos’ home playoff game dating back to the 2012 season. They weren’t about to miss the team’s most important game in 15 years. “I really can’t stop smiling,” Mike said. “The biggest part is that my dad and I both get to go.” The father and son team will fly out of Denver International Airport on Jan. 31. They have secured a hotel room one-half mile from the stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. “We’re going to walk to the game,” Howie said. “We plan to get there sometime in the early afternoon.” Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. On Feb. 1, the Schommers have tickets to attend a tailgate part in downtown New York where they will be joined by several former Broncos. “We don’t know who’s going to be there. They’re keeping it a surprise,” Mike said. Howie plans on getting in a Broncos zone while he is in the Big Apple. “We’re going to get involved in all sorts of Broncos’ hype,” he said. “We want to see the Broncos dominate the game and watch them hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy. We’ll stay in the sta-

Another marshal’s vehicle, the 2002 Durango, is still in the shop, with an expected repair bill of $2,600. “These are things that could have been fixed if taken care of,” Price said. While Bradley asked and was given permission in a public meeting to sell two additional vehicles, he failed to follow through, Price said. “Rob (McArthur) did it and got $1,800 for the two cars,” Price said. The repair expenses are above and beyond anything the town would have in its budget, he said. “This is one of the reasons we can’t afford a marshal’s office. It’s about $80,000 more than we have in the budget to have somebody making stops that are costing the town a lot of money. We don’t have that much money.”

By Pat Hill Woodland Park residents Mike Schommer, left, and his father, Howie Schommer, proudly show their Super Bowl tickets for the Feb. 2 game involving the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in New York. Photo by Danny Summers dium until that happens.” The cost of the memorable weekend is not cheap. Tickets to the game for the Schommers ran $3,500 apiece. That does not include air fare or hotel. “My son didn’t have enough nerves to push the ‘pay’ button,” Howie said with a smile. “He told me to push the button so I took care of that.” The Schommers actually got a pretty good deal on tickets. “There were seats on the 50-yard line going for $15,000 a piece,” Mike said. “Suites are a half-million dollars each.” Interestingly, the Schommers did not get into the Broncos’ lottery for a chance at tickets. On Monday, the Broncos sent out an email to season ticket holders regarding the on line site “Prime Sports.” The Schommers are long-time residents of Teller County. Howie moved here 39 years ago. He has lived in the same house in Woodland Park for the last 35 years. Mike was a 2000 graduate of Wood-

land Park High School, where he was a linebacker on the football team. They Schommers own Schommer Construction, located at 410 S. 19th St. in Colorado Springs. They specialize in interior and drywall. They recently did work on Charis Bible College in Woodland Park and the new Bass Pro Shops in North Gate. Game time temperature is expected to be in the 30’s. But there is a possibility a blizzard could hit the area. “We’re prepared for it,” said Howie, who will be wearing his No. 87 Eric Decker Broncos jersey. “We’ll bring plenty of our Woodland Park/Teller County clothing.” Mike will be wearing his No. 18 Peyton Manning Broncos jersey. The Schommers don’t plan to do much sightseeing in New York. “We’ve both been there on separate trips,” Howie said. “This is a football trip.”

PIKES PEAK COURIER (USPS 654-460) OFFICE: 1200 E. Highway 24, Woodland Park, CO 80863 | PHONE: 719-687-3006 MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 340, Woodland Park, CO 80866 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Teller County, Colorado, the Pikes Peak Courier is published weekly on Wednesday by Colorado Community Media, 1200 E. Highway 24, Woodland Park, CO 80863. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WOODLAND PARK, COLORADO. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs.11 a.m. | Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 12 p.m.

phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com With a second motion asking the city of Woodland Park to reconsider its annexation of 1.84 acres for a recycling center, Teller County has drawn a line in the sand. “Woodland Park has now filed certified copies of their ordinance and their plat study on the property they’re calling the Southwest Valley Annex,” said County Administrator Sheryl Decker at the commissioners’ meeting Jan. 22. “We felt it would be prudent for us to re-file with the city our motion to reconsider their annexation.” The motion to reconsider passed unanimously by commissioners Marc Dettenrieder, Dave Paul and Norm Steen. Asked for a comment, Mike Perini, of Perini & Associates and spokesman for Jay Baker, replied: “We are aware of the latest development. Teller County Waste remains committed to the annexation process,” Perini said. If the permit is approved, Baker would operate the recycling center on the same property, the 1.84 acres, as the waste company. Of the latest development in the ongoing issue, Woodland Park city manager David Buttery said, “Yes, we did receive this second request. Currently, we are waiting for advice from the city attorney.”

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