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Courier Pikes Peak
VO LUME 55 | ISSUE 8 | 7 5 ¢
February 24, 2016
Teller County, Colorado
Hotel project 35 years in the making Best Western is frontrunner among possible contenders
By Norma Engelberg njengel60@gmail.com When the Woodland Park City Council approved the dimensions for a new hotel at Gold Hill Square South, it was only the beginning of a process that still has months to go before construction can begin.
When bulldozers finally hit the site, it will signal realization of a long-sought goal for developer/architect William Page, who has wanted to add lodging to his downtown retail complex since the early 1980s. He was so determined to add a hotel that when he constructed Building 6, he included a lower level that could be easily converted into an underground parking garage.
Silhouettes bring athletics, art and community together
And even though he initially only built one upper level, he designed the foundation to be strong enough to hold at least three or four more stories. He also installed largerthan-necessary water and sewer lines in anticipation of a hotel. That building is the current home of the Sherwin Wil-
See “Hotel” on page A2
WP RE-2 amends sales-tax initiative WP council backs charter amendments By Norma Engelberg njengel60@gmail.com
Students take the initiative to liven up outside of gym By Danny Summers dannysummers@yourpeaknews.com If’ you stroll down the long hallway leading to the Woodland Park High School gymnasium, you will notice a very cool collection of silhouette paintings on a wall across from the library. Thank seniors Bella Hoffman, Sierra Wilson and Hunter Sprague for putting their talents to good use. “We have a lot of support from the community and our teachers,” said Hoffman, a manager for the boys basketball team who headed the silhouette project. “Teachers will walk by and say ‘This looks great.’ So will students. We have a lot of support, and that’s very much appreciated.” A lot of credit goes to teacher Stacia Ray Adamson, who
See “Mural” on page A13
Woodland Park senior Bella Hoffman, right, did most of the designs for the silhouette project. Hunter Sprague is having a good time painting. /Photo courtesy of Stacia Ray Adamson
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PIKES PEAK COURIER (USPS 654-460)
A proposal to increase the sales tax by 1.09 percent to raise $1.8 million a year for the Woodland Park School District RE-2 came under criticism before the City Council at its Feb. 18 meeting. And the district announced it was revising the language that will go before voters in the April 15 election to specify exactly how the proceeds of the sales tax would be used. Rosemary Davis, a retired French teacher and curriculum writer now living in Florissant, told the council she opposes the
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concept of using sales tax to fund schools. And Davis added she feels the local, state and federal funding schools already get should be sufficient. “How is it that the United States spends the most (money on education) and does so poorly in educational outcomes?” she asked, adding that other countries, including France, where she has taught, place more value on education. “No amount of money can cause a district to value education,” she said, adding that school boards should get teachers to help set district budgets.
See “Council” on page A8
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