1-Color
March 5, 2014
75 cents Teller County, Colorado | Volume 53, Issue 9 A publication of
pikespeakcourier.net ‘In my opinion it wasn’t well thought out. It’s such a deep disappointment.’ Karen Casey-Svetich
Holmes, RE-1 super gets voted out by board By Pat Hill
phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Woodland Hardware, the first project to open within Woodland Station, opened last week. The owners, Gene (pictured) and Kelly Rodarmel, spent the week closing the original store in Gold Hill Square South and seeing to last-minute details on the new property.
Woodland Hardware:
STATION PIONEER By Pat Hill
phill@ coloradocommunitymedia.com The first project to be completed within Woodland Station, Gene and Kelly Rodarmel’s Woodland Hardware is 22,000 square feet of new inventory. The store opened during the last week of February, a few days ahead of schedule. The off-site improvements around the hardware store include sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, storm drainage as well as the construction projects on Center Street and Saddle Club Drive. Projects within the Downtown Development District are funded with tax-increment financing; in this case, the financing will be used to pay off the bonds purchased through Vectra Bank. “The store is the first in Woodland Station; we have other developers interested in the station,” said Brian Fleer, executive director of the city of economic and downtown development.
POSTAL ADDRESS
Woodland Hardware opened last week and faces the city’s newest street, Saddle Club Drive. The store is within Woodland Station, the former site of the historic Woodland Park Saddle Club. Photos by Pat Hill
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.
In a 3-2 vote the RE-1 School board voted Feb. 24 not to renew the contract for the superintendent, Sue Holmes. “It was a standing-room only affair full of Ms. Holmes’ supporters, many of whom testified in her support,” said Teller County commissioner Marc Dettenrieder in a report to the commissioners Feb. 27. “They shared many compelling stories of her successes as a superintendent over the past nearly eight years.” There were no calls that evening for Holmes’ removal, Dettenrieder said. “In the end, I was disappointed to see that the school board voted 3-2 not to renew her contract,” he said. “Under Ms. Holmes’ tenure great strides have been made; the district and the community will certainly miss her leadership, involvement and vision for this district.” The board voted in executive session and announced the results after the session. Tim Braun, president of the board, and Lourdes Monger voted to renew Holmes’ contract while Don Daniel, Dennis Jones and Tana Rice voted to deny renewal. In a call to Braun, he declined to comment as the vote was taken during executive session, he said. However, former school board member, Karen Casey-Svetich, is not constrained by legislative rules. “I know that Sue will land on her feet; she’s a brilliant leader. My big worry is for the kids,” said Casey-Svetich, former member of the school board. Holmes is one of three leaving the district next year; Jean Olmstead is retiring as the business manager and Trudy Vader, principal of the high school, resigned last week. “I am so disappointed that people in leadership’s position either aren’t using their leadership skills or are unwilling to get the skills,” she said. “With a pretty new whole board, it would be really important for them to come in, and if they had concerns, sit back for a year as a group and gather information.” In her tenure as the superintendent, Holmes changed the culture of the school, Casey-Svetich said. “The kids were expected to behave,” she said. “And the kids responded to that.” The decision was uninformed, CaseySvetich said. “In my opinion it wasn’t well thought out,” she added. “It’s such a deep disappointment. I think you expect more of our community leaders.”
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