Tribune Tri-Lakes 7.17.13
Tri-Lakes
July 17, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
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Tri-Lakes Region, Monument, Gleneagle, Black Forest and Northern El Paso County • Volume 48, Issue 29
Historical society sponsors traditional powwow Fourth annual inter-tribal festival also sponsored by One Nation Walking Together By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews.com Different Native American tribes will come together for a traditional powwow during a one day Native American InterTribal Festival. The fourth annual festival and powwow, sponsored by the Palmer Lake Historical Society and One Nation Walking Together, will take place on July 20 at the Freedom Financial Services EXPO Center. The festival has taken place at Palmer Lake in years past. “We would have liked to have kept it in Palmer Lake but with the weather and heat we thought we should have it indoors,” Al Walter, president of the PLHS, said. The festival and powwow will feature a Native American teaching lodge to educate non-Natives, a live wolf exhibit, two host drums which are by invitation only, dancers in full regalia, kids craft area and Native American artists and craftsman. There will also be food vendors selling Navajo tacos and fry bread. “We want an event where Native Americans can come together and greet each other,” Walter said. Native Americans from all tribes come from all over to take part in the powwow. Walter said every year the powwow gets bigger and it might become a two-day event in the future. Dancers in full regalia take part in the Grand Entry during the 2012 Native American Festival and Traditional Powwow. The powwow is an inter-tribal festival to bring Native Ameri“The Palmer Lake Historical Society’s can’s from all tribes together and to educate non-Natives on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. This year’s powwow will take place on July 20 at the Freedom Financial mission is to preserve history. We want to Services EXPO Center. File photo by Lisa Collacott put on this an event so people can get a flavor of the Native American community and the Freedom Financial Services EXPO Cen- scheduled to begin at noon. Seating is Donations of non-perishable food items educate people on the culture and traditer located at 3650 North Nevada Avenue. limited in the EXPO Center so attendees will be accepted. tion,” Walter added. For more information visit www.onenaAdmission price is $2 for adults. Children can bring their own chairs. Walter said the The powwow and festival will take place under 12 and dancers in full regalia will powwow is combined with a food drive to tionwt.org or www.palmerdividehistory. from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on July 20 at be admitted for free. The Grand Entry is collect food for Native Americans in need. org.
Mulch pile continues to grow at Black Forest facility Area residents taking advantage of Slashmulch program By Danny Summers
Dsummers@ourcoloradonews. com Few people like the sight, smell and crunch of mulch as much Ruth Ann Steel. But even she has had her fill of watching the decaying material pile up in front of her this summer. Steel oversees the Black Forest Slash-Mulch Program, a wildfire and mitigation recycling program co-sponsored by the El Paso County Environmental Division, Colorado Forestry Association and Black Forest Fire Department. For 20 years she has coordinated efforts at the one-and-a-half acre facility, located along Herring Road. But never before has she seen so much slashing and mulching taking place in such a short period of time. “We are almost overwhelmed,”
The Black Forest Slash-Mulch facility on Herring Road is overflowing these days. Mulch piles are growing as a result of the recent Black Forest Fire that charred many trees. Photo by Photos courtesy of Black Forest Slash-Mulch Steel said. “I have never seen such a big mulch pile. But it’s a good problem to have.” Things are piling up due to the effect from last month’s massive Black Forest Fire that destroyed more than 500 homes and burned more than 14,000 acres. Home-
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owners and land owners in the area are taking what’s left of their charred trees and heading to Steel’s facility to have the material slashed into mulch. Steel was concerned that the charred wood might be hazardous to the environment, so she
sent some samples a laboratory at Colorado State University in Fort Collins for testing. She should know the results this week. “There’s no difference in color between ordinary mulch and charred mulch once it goes through the machine,” Steel said. “The fire went through so fast it left only a very thin coating of char. “Carbon is good for plants, so my guess is that this is probably okay for use and for the environment. I think it will be beneficial. I’ve been testing it myself in my outdoor greenhouse and my plants and things are flourishing.” The slash-mulch facility is open to El Paso and Teller County residents. But Steel said folks can come from any county and they won’t be turned away. “We don’t check license plates,” she said. The facility is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. About 20 volunteers help run and maintain the facility.
“Two Saturdays ago we had a line of 20 loads that swung down north on Herring and curled around on Shoup,” Steel said. “We took in 1,000 pickup loads that day.” El Paso County workers have been trucking loads of mulch to Flying W Ranch to help in the mitigation and restoration from damage caused by the Waldo Canyon Fire of 2012. That fire destroyed 347 homes in the Mountain Shadows area and burned more than 18,000 acres. “They’re trying to help with the erosion caused by the Waldo Canyon Fire,” Steel said. More recently, Steel has been in contact with the Colorado Springs office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The NRCS has expressed interest in using mulch from Steel’s facility to help with the Waldo Canyon Fire rehabilitation assistance program. Two major floods have occurred this month near Highway 24 as a result of heavy rain run-off from the Waldo Canyon burn scar.
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