OCN Our Community News N
W
E
S
Volunteers reporting on community issues in Monument, Palmer Lake, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes area
Issue #288 — Volume 25 Number 3 — Saturday, March 1, 2025 Visit our NEW MOBILE-FRIENDLY website: OCN.ME Audio is posted for many of the articles and videos for some events.
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MONUMENT, CO PERMIT NO. 32
**ECRWSS** Postal Customer
Free
Wildfire mitigation near Lake of the Rockies, Feb. 3
Local Events Readers should assume that event information published in this issue is subject to change and information should be confirmed a day or two before the event by calling the information number or checking the organization’s website. See page 18 and page 19 for event locations and other details of these and many other local events. • OCN mailing day, Thu., Feb. 27 & Apr. 3, approx. 7-8:30 am. Become an OCN reporter! We will train you! Call 719-4883455. • Open House: Woodmoor Dr./Lake Woodmoor Dr., Wed., Mar. 5, 5:30-7 p.m • D38 Chess Tournament, Sat., Mar. 8, Bear Creek elementary School • NEPCO, Sat., Mar. 8, 10 am–12 pm. • MVEA board nomination questionnaires due, Thu., Mar. 13. See mvea.coop • McCords garden center opens, Sat., Mar. 15, see ad on page 5 • Palmer Lake Historical Society, Thu., Mar. 20, 7-8 pm • UPDATED Monument Cemetary History talk, Fri., Mar. 21, 11-12:30 pm, Silver Key Senior Center. • Spring STEAM Camp at WMMI, Tue.-Thu., Mar. 25-7. See ad on page 10. • D38 Elementary School Student Art Show, Apr. 1-6 • D38 Middle and High School Student Art Show, Apr. 8-13 • Space Foundation National Space Day, May 3. See ad on page 10. • Taste of Tri-Lakes Cares, Wed., May 14, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Buy early bird tickets by Apr. 1.
Above: People living in the Monument community of Lake of the Rockies can feel safer now that a fire mitigation project has been completed. The four-day project was necessary because three acres of dense stands of scrub oak and ponderosa pines behind the community and south of the Monument Lake dam were considered a “high hazard area.” Workers with Pikes Peak Forestry and Construction used a powerful machine known as a masticator to chew up small trees, oak brush, and debris on the floor of the forest to open up space beneath the pines. Workers also used chainsaws to cut lower branches and remove smaller trees to make it less likely a fire could spread to houses. Jonathan Bradley, division chief of Community Risk Reduction, says the forest has now been restored to “a healthy condition.” He says the aim was to “make sure that a low-intensity fire wasn’t going to climb up into the crown of the trees.” Now, he says, if there’s a fire “you may get charring on the trees, but you’re not likely to lose them.” He added that some oak brush was kept to “maintain diversity and some wildlife habitats.” The chopped-up material will help with erosion. The project cost nearly $11,000 and was paid for with a grant from the Pikes Peak Regional Council of Governments. Photo by Michael Weinfeld. See additional photos on page 16. Also, see our website (www.ocn.me) for videos of this work being done.
TLCA sells Palmer Lake building
Board expresses interest in Grace Best building Above: Built in 1947, the TLCA building was placed for sale by the TLCA board in 2024. Photo by David Futey.
Above: I spotted this snowman on Monument Lake while walking the dog Feb. 2. It has pinecones for eyes and sticks for hands. The snowman was among the many colorful ice fishing huts on the lake. The snowman had fallen over and mostly melted by the next morning. Photo by Michael Weinfeld. More snapshots page 16-17
In this issue D38 News 1, 3-7 Monument News 7-8 Palmer Lake News 1, 8-9 Water & San District News 10-13 Fire District News 13 County News 13 HOA News 14-15 Letters 15 Columns 15-16 Snapshots 16-17 Notices and Calendar 18-19 OCN Info 1, 13, 19, 20
Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13
By David Futey The sounds of music and display of art will no longer be respectively heard and seen in the building that has housed the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts (TLCA) on Highway 105 in Palmer Lake since 1999. The TLCA Board of Directors decided to sell the property after the Certificate of Occupancy (CoO) could not be resolved and related renovation costs. The renovations and an indefinite closure time frame in which to perform them were required to correct fire and other code violations identi-
fied by the Palmer Lake Fire Department and to bring the building up to present-day building code standards. The renovations were required to modify the CoO designation. The final musical performance was by David Arkenstone on Dec. 7, 2024. The discrepancy between the CoO and the building’s use was brought to light when the TLCA rented the space to a church for Sunday services. The CoO, assigned by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, was
TLCA (Cont. on 2)
Lewis-Palmer D 38 Board of Education, Feb. 18
Board recognizes achievements, hears about Arts Education and Career and Innovation Center By Harriet Halbig The Lewis-Palmer D 38 Board of Education recognized a number of students and staff members at its Feb. 18 meeting. Reports on the Career and Innovation Center and from the Arts Education Task Force were also received.
Student representatives
Palmer Ridge High School students Aiden Miller and Paige Ehresman attended the meeting in a non-voting capacity. They reported on activities at their school and participated in the discussions.
Student and staff recognitions
The board recognized 11 students
from Palmer Ridge High School for receiving Scholastic Art Awards for 2025. For a list of names, please see boarddocs under the date of the meeting. This is a state-level competition. Of the 5,000 entries submitted, Palmer Ridge had 11 students and 13 artworks recognized. Of these, five were Gold Key entries which will next be judged at the national level. To view the artworks, please see boarddocs under the Board of Education tab on the district website. These works will be displayed at the Denver Art Museum and other participating venues until March 5.
D38 (Cont. on 3)
By Jackie Burhans At the Monument Academy (MA) board meeting on Feb. 13, the board agreed to draft a letter of intent to purchase the Grace Best Education Center building. It heard an update on its Homeschool Enrichment Program, learned about a proposed aerospace program, and approved new modular buildings.
Intent to purchase Grace Best
At the beginning of its regular meeting, the board amended its agenda to add an item for “negotiations for real property” to the executive session. When the board returned from the executive session, board President Ryan Graham said the board saw an incredible opportunity to potentially partner with D38 and utilize Grace Best for some of MA’s programs. He moved that the board direct legal counsel to draft a letter of intent to purchase Grace Best and have Executive Director Collin Vinchattle contact the D38 administration team to advise it of MA’s interest. The board unanimously passed the motion, and Graham said that MA would still have a due diligence opportunity to inspect and review the findings with Grace Best but would like to use the facility for MA programs. See the PCAC article on page 6.
Homeschool enrichment program update
At the beginning of the meeting, Graham read two public comments submitted electronically from parents who praised the Monument Academy Homeschool Partnership (MAHP) program. They said it provided the opportunity to socialize, gave access to reading and math tests and field trips, and was a great supplement to homeschooling.
MA (Cont. on 5)