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July 23, 2014 VOLU M E 53 | I S S UE 29 | 7 5 ¢
PikesPeakCourier.net T E L L E R C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Local businessman Tom Carrick dies By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com Woodland Park lost one of its most colorful residents when Tom Carrick died July 17 at the age of 64. Known for his quirky sense of humor and, at times, irreverent comments about official and unofficial goings-on, Carrick gave his time tirelessly to make Woodland Park a better place. Founding member and chairman of the Downtown Development Authority, former planning commissioner and shrewd businessman, Carrick was a vital part of the city’s march to progress, which includes development of Woodland Station. “He loved the DDA and everything going on in town,” said his wife, Ellen Carrick. Ellen and Allie (Carrick) Secretan, 26, the couple’s only child, along with Ellen’s sister Elizabeth Fleming, were taking care of details the day after Carrick’s death. “We keep thinking he’s going to walk in and make some kind of sarcastic remark,” Ellen said. “He made me laugh for 41 years.” Carrick had the right balance as a dad, Allie said. “He combined tough love with being a softie,” she said. As the owners of Travel Trek,
the Carricks fed their lust for travel with voracious research. “Allie had been to all seven continents before she was 13,” Ellen said. While the Carricks sold the business, they continued to travel — and had just gotten back from a trip around the Southwest when Carrick got sick two weeks ago. “It was one of our favorite trips,” Ellen said. Carrick died from pancreatic and kidney failure. The Carricks moved to Woodland Park after he retired as a major with the U.S. Army Infantry, Ranger Airborne division. “He was very proud of that,” Ellen said. Woodland Park’s city manager David Buttery, veteran of the U.S. Army, connected with Carrick on many levels. “Tom was a true servant. He served his country as a soldier and his community as a quiet but well-respected and listened-to volunteer,” Buttery said. “I will miss his wisdom, counsel and humor.” Dale Schnitker, chairman of the DDA, highlighted Carrick’s generosity and concern for others. “I just loved the man,” he said. “He was an inspiration, a Woodland Park-er for sure.” Carrick took a keen interest in Schnitker’s daughter Danielle. “When she got promoted to ma-
jor, Tom put together a ‘major’ package for her that we took to her when she graduated,” he said. But it’s mention of Allie that has Schnitker choked up. “He was just over-the-top about Allie and so excited about her successes,” he said. Schnitker, who also has a sense of humor, said Carrick used a lot of big words. “That was a little tough on me,” he said. Jon DeVaux, whose Alpine Firearms is in the Carricks’ former Travel Trek building, pegs Carrick as a steady force who was dedicated to doing the right thing. “He had a logical mind,” he said. “He always opened the DDA meetings with a joke.” A voracious reader, Carrick shared newspaper clipping about guns, whether from the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times, DeVaux said. Like the others, DeVaux remarked on the relationship between Tom and Ellen. “They did everything together,” he said. Glenn and Lois Sill count the Carricks among their closest friends; both couples were part of the Friday Night Club. “We’re going to miss that friendship,” Lois said, adding that she worked for the Carricks at the travel agency for 10 years. “I enjoyed every day of it.”
Tom and Ellen Carrick were named King and Queen at the Mardi Gras celebration in Woodland Park. The Carricks were part of the Cavaliers. The photo was taken in 2002. Courtesy photo While grieving over the loss, Glenn manages a laugh over one of Carrick’s many adventure tales. “He told me that while he was in parachute school all of his jumps were at night,” he said. “I asked him why at night and he said, ‘because my eyes were closed all the way down.’” Brian Fleer, executive director of the Downtown and Economic Development, first met Carrick when he inquired at city hall about opening a travel agency in 1994. At the time, Fleer was the city’s planning director. “Tom was an old-school guy with an intellectual edge. There
are very few of those left anymore,” he said. “His presence cast a huge shadow over the town.” Carrick also understood that the DDA would truly benefit the community, Fleer said. Among the distinguished residents who have been named “Wagon Boss,” by the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce, Carrick also served as the chamber’s president. There are no public services planned for Carrick, but the family asks that donations be made in his name to The Alzheimer’s Association, 2315 Bott Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80904.
Rain plagues area once again By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com POSTAL ADDRESS
PIKES PEAK COURIER (USPS 654-460)
OFFICE: 1200 E. Highway 24 Woodland Park, CO 80863 PHONE: 719-687-3006 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. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Summer has not been kind to Green Mountain Falls or the Ute Pass area. In the mother of all storms, July 14 brought another round of hail and torrential rain. As residents crossed their fingers that Fountain Creek would stay within its banks, the creek actually did just that. Driving along Chipita Park Road around 2:45 p.m. that afternoon, Myrna Wey, who has lived in Green Mountain Falls most of her life, thought the town was in for another deluge. “I could see the water come up over the deck of one of the houses on what we call “Preacher’s Row,’” she said, adding that the homes were near the intersection of Fountain Road and Ute Pass Avenue. About that time residents were advised to evacuate to the Ute Pass Elementary School and several did. Last year’s floods wiped out the playground at the school but that area as well as the surrounding school property has been secured with a wall. “The wall held through both storms, Monday and Wednesday,” said Chris Briggs-Hale, the school’s principal. As Wey continued her ride home from Chipita Park, she wondered if she’d be allowed to cross the bridge to her home. Wiped out last year from the floodwaters, the bridge, at the east end of Gazebo Park, had been repaired. “An El Paso County deputy was standing at the bridge, said it was safe to cross,” Wey said. Two days later, torrential rainstorms in the afternoon and eve-
Karen Watson watches as floodwaters threaten her home in Green Mountain Falls July 14.
Little did Karen Watson know that the rainstorm of July 14 would be the first of many that week. Watson snapped a series of photos, hoping she would not be part of the water and mud. A quiet summer day soon turned into a torrent for residents of Green Mountain Falls. Karen Watson caught this photo during the storm July 14. Courtesy photos ning brought another two inches of rain and hail. Again, Wey watched the creek rise but stay within its banks. Across the highway, in Sand
Gulch, Jan Petit, Ute Pass historian, rated the ultimate result of the torrents on the road. “It was horrible,” she said. “But our neighbor has a tractor and he put the road
back together.” This year’s floods, however, were less onerous on Sand Gulch, which was impassable after last year’s deluge. “I just kind of ignore floods, anymore,” Pettit said. The July 19 storm, however, caused a mudslide on U.S. 24 and backed up traffice for two hours.