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Issue #124 — Volume 11 Number 6 — Saturday, June 4, 2011
Upcoming Local Events See pages 39-43 for details of these and many other local events. Hooked on Palmer Lake Kids’ Fishing Derby, Sat., Jun. 4, 8 a.m.-noon. Concerts in the Park: Monument Hill Brass Quintet, Wed., Jun. 8, 7-9 p.m. Gleneagle Community Garage Sale, Fri., Jun. 10-Sat., Jun. 11, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Palmer Lake Art Group’s Art Show and Sale Opening Reception, Fri., Jun. 10, 5–9 p.m Tri-Lakes Cruisers Car Show, Sun., Jun. 12, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Concerts in the Park: John Adams, A John Denver Tribute, Wed., Jun. 15, 7-9 p.m. Art Hop, Thu., Jun. 16, 5-8 p.m. Summer Soul-stice Celebration, Sat., Jun. 18, downtown historic Monument. Palmer Lake Historical Society Fathers’ Day Ice Cream Social, Sun., Jun. 19, 2-4 p.m. “Get Educated” Summer Series–Public School Education Forum 1: How we fund our K-12 public schools, Mon., Jun. 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Concerts in the Park: Jazz Fusion Artists Hammerstadt, Wed., Jun. 22, 7-9 p.m. Woodmoor Garage Sale, Fri., Jun. 24Sat., Jun. 25, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Concerts in the Park: Jody Adams with the String Dudes, Acoustic/Folk, Wed., Jun. 29, 7-9 p.m.■
In this issue Fire District News 1-8 D-38 News 8-15 Water & Sanitation Districts 1,15-20 Monument News 20-23 Palmer Lake News 23 Doewood Gate 24 WIA News 26 Weather 26 Letters 27 Books, Gardens, Birds, Arts 28-31 Snapshots of Our Community 32-35 Library Events, History 36-38 Independence Day Events 38 Special Events and Notices 39 Our Community Calendar 40 OCN information 43
Life of Wescott Chief Edwards honored By Jim Kendrick On June 1, 40 fire trucks formed a procession in honor of Chief Jeff Edwards, of the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District. He died at age 48 on May 25 after a heroic two-year battle against stage IV pancreatic cancer. Shown above is the procession turning from southbound Voyager Parkway for the memorial service held June 1 at New Life Church, attended by about 300 people. Edwards earned the nickname “Nev-
er Give Up” while living far beyond the six-month prediction he was given when diagnosed in 2009. He continued to work full-time at Wescott and even won a body building contest during his illness. Firefighters from throughout El Paso County were joined by numerous Wyoming Air National Guard firefighters Edwards served with for many years, including three deployments to Iraq in recent years, to help render full fire service and military honors. Edwards previously served on ac-
tive duty as an Army Ranger in special operations for 15 years, including numerous classified assignments to Central and South America before joining the Guard. He rose through the Wescott ranks since 1995 from volunteer to chief in 2006. He is survived by wife Deborah, daughter Amber, and son Brian. Jim Kendrick can be contacted at jimkendrick@ocn.me Additional coverage of local fire protection districts starts on page 2.
Woodmoor district approves multi-million dollar water deal By Candice Hitt On May 12, the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors approved a contract to purchase water rights and reservoir storage on 3,500-acre JV Ranch in southern El Paso County about four miles southeast of Fountain. The board also approved sending a letter to district residents explaining the proposed purchase. The purchase would provide rights to 2,500 to 3,400 acre-feet of water per year, which would cover a significant part of the district’s annual demand for water. An acre-foot is 326,851 gallons. The reservoir is a 70-acre facility with decreed water storage rights for approximately 700 acre-feet. The district would need to pursue, through water court, conversion of the agricultural water rights for municipal use. The purchase cost is approximately $25 million to $31 million, depending on the final water rights approved by the water court. The district has up to 120 days to conduct due diligence investigations into the ranch property, the storage reservoir, and the water rights. Assuming the purchase goes ahead, the district does not anticipate
being able to close on the property until the end of the year.
Survey shows satisfaction with district
District Manager Jesse Shaffer and Assistant Manager Randy Gillette presented the results of the spring 2011 opinion survey sent out to customers to gather feedback on the current service provided by the district and consumer knowledge of the current and future water supply. A summary of the survey indicated an overall favorable opinion of district operations and customer service. Most of the 611 respondents expressed satisfaction with district water quality and delivery. Results also indicated customers have a high knowledge of limitations of water sources as well as the role that water conservation plays in potentially delaying future cost increases. The opinion survey included areas that need improvement by the district, specifically, better website and rebate program promotion. The results are posted on the district’s website, www.woodmoorwater.com. The district plans to continue to raise public awareness and education on the need to conserve water.
2010 financial audit results
The results of the 2010 financial audit were given to the district by Pat Hall, CPA. The results showed the district had $37 million in net assets.
Corrections to poster contest information
Some of the “Be Water Wise” poster contest results were incorrect in the May edition of OCN. The posters “Save Water” by Jonathan Van Dyke, a fourth-grader from Lewis-Palmer, and the poster “Low Flow Toilet” by Julia Howe, a fourth-grader from Monument Academy, won first place. The schools that participated in the poster contest were Monument Academy, Lewis-Palmer, and Prairie Winds Elementary. ********** The next regular board meeting will be held at 1 p.m. June 9 at the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District Office, 1845 Woodmoor Dr., Monument. For information: 488-2525. The district’s website is www. woodmoorwater.com. Candice Hitt can be reached at candicehitt@ocn.me. Additional coverage of local water and sanitation districts starts on page15.