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September 3, 2014 VOLU M E 53 | I S S UE 35 | 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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Lindauer takes charge in CC By Pat Hill
phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com If it’s new and different, stretches boundaries and opens up possibilities, Les Lindauer is in. Recently appointed superintendent of the RE-1 School District, Lindauer arrived at his new post in the midst of a standoff between the library and school districts. “When I got here July 1 their plan (librarian Mike McDonald and Southern Teller County Library District board) was to be out (of its location within the high school) Aug 3. They’d already started packing,” Lindauer said. “I think it (the disagreement) just got off to the wrong start.” Seasoned negotiator, Lindauer stepped right into the controversy and secured an agreement between the presidents of the library and the school boards, Penni Donatto and Tim Braun, respectively. “You talk about what people are upset about, talk about the positive and don’t allow any side issues,” he said. “Within an hour and a half we had a 20-year agreement, signed, sealed and delivered.” Lindauer fine-tuned his negotiating skills as a member of the original teachers’ union in Colorado, the Denver Federation of Teachers. Colorado native, Lindauer took a circuitous route to education. From initiating an apprenticeship program for iron workers in Denver, Lindauer accepted a position as field superintendent for the Rocky Mountain region with Pittsburgh Plate and Glass. “We built almost all those high-rise build-
ings in Denver that have glass on them,” he said. As some abhor change Lindauer thrives on temporary upheaval. For instance, when the glass company closed its commercial construction division, Lindauer moved on. “I went to college and got my bachelor’s and teaching degrees and went to work for Denver Public Schools teaching construction trades at the Career Education Center,” he said. “I finished my master’s degree in education during that time.” After three years Lindauer accepted a position as the dean of technical trades and industry at the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver. He retired as the school’s executive director in 2009. “The next day I went to Mesa State College in Grand Junction and started their community education program,” he said. In the back of his mind was another goal yet to accomplish. “I wanted to finish my professional career as a superintendent- I always felt that was the toughest position in education,” he said. “I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.” Earning an administrator’s license from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was the springboard for his first job as a superintendent, at the Arickaree School District in Anton, a small town 100 miles east of Denver. Three years later, Lindauer saw the opening for a superintendent in the RE-1 School District which serves about 350 students. Whether or not he knew it, the job included mediation between the library and school district board presidents. Check.
As the new superintendent of the Re-1 School District, Leslie Lindauer negotiated a solution to the disagreement between the library and the school district - all before school even started. Photo by Pat Hill “This is a significant benefit, not only to the students and staff, but the community of Cripple Creek,” he said. “We have the opportunity to make this the best library in the state.” The resolution was in place before school started. “Now that that is out of the way we can focus on making this the best school district in Colorado. I don’t want to lose any more kids,” he said. Lindauer has his eye on attracting stu-
dents through excellence. “We have a hardworking staff;, the kids are good kids,” he said “We have a nice facility, a nice library, which helps us become the hub of the community. That’s how you build success in the school district.” The superintendent and his wife, Kim Lindauer, who teaches special education in the district, have four grown children and three grandchildren.
CROWDS FILL WOODLAND PARK POSTAL ADDRESS
Pro Challenge a boon for the city Not so good for business, however By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com
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 and additional mailing offices. 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
The general feeling among several Woodland Park business owners is that the USA Pro Challenge Aug. 22 was a good news/bad news thing. “We had a better day after the race was over,” said Todd Grube, manager of Mountain Wookies on Midland Avenue. While one-day sales were down by 90 percent at Williams Log Cabin Furniture, Jerry and Vickie Good contributed their time to the event. Vickie Good, for instance, showed up at 6 a.m. to help set up the staging area. However, the Goods’ civic spirit only went so far. “The glamour started to wear off around 2 p.m.,” Jerry Good said. By that time the race through town was over but the only entrance to the furniture store, on Fairview Street remained closed until 4 p.m. “It completely stifled our business,” he said. For the Goods, the race was only one day. “On the whole, it’s a good event but there was no good reason to close Fairview until 4 p.m.,” he said. Merry Jo Larsen at The Cowhand has a somewhat dim view of the race.. “We were down about 25 percent in sales,” she said. “Most of our customers said they were going to avoid Woodland Park at all costs that day.” However, Larsen does give a nod to the committee that organized the event. “I know how much
A large crowd gathered at the start of the Woodland Park Pro Cycle Challenge stage on Aug. 22. Photo by Paul Magnuson
Crowds, estimated from 8,500 to 10,000, filled Woodland Park streets last week and local, national and even international attention may elevate its market standing. Photo by Rob Carrigan work these events are but for the most part I don’t think it was a feather in our cap,” she said. “It
wasn’t a shopping crowd; as soon as the cyclists went by the people went back to the staging area.”
On the other hand, Larsen said, people did buy clothes off the racks outside the store. If asked for her opinion on hosting the race again, Larsen would vote no. “We need events that last two or three days, like the rodeos we used to have,” she said. At Pikes Peak Polaris, sales were off but race-watchers did stop in. “Our regular customers couldn’t get here,” said the manager, Anne Dorais. “Do I think the race was a big hype for nothing? Yes.” Dorais laments the amount of time that went into the planning. “I think people thought it would be more exciting, but it wasn’t,” she said. Like the others, Lon Rust at Paradise Liquors in the Safeway plaza, had mixed feelings about the cycling race. “It hurt us bad,” he said. “We lost at least $2,000 that day.” However, there was an upside. “Sales were a little higher the day before,” he said. “A lot of the locals hunkered down the day of the race.” Kassandra Bowen, who owns Kitchen and Homebrew, offers a twist on the non-scientific survey. Because the store was still in the original location in the Safeway plaza the day of the race, Bowen’s sales were off. “We saw a decrease in sale, which makes perfect sense,” she said. However, at the top of Bowen’s wish list was moving the store sooner to the prime spot downtown, right smack in the middle of where the crowds were during the race. “That’s one of the reasons we moved here,” she said. “We’re seeing a definite increase in business.”