The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF MARCH 6, 2025
VOLUME 66 | ISSUE 16
$2
El Rancho update:
Fire district change sought BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In a sure sign the El Rancho redevelopment is moving forward, developer Jack Buchanan asked Evergreen Fire/Rescue to move the former Observatory property into its district. The property, on which Buchanan plans to relocate the now-closed El Rancho restaurant and build a hotel and several smaller restaurants, is now in the Foothills Fire Protection District. The EFR board approved the inclusion after a lengthy discussion at its Feb. 18 meeting. Both the Foothills’ and Highland Rescue ambulance boards must approve excluding the property before it becomes part of EFR’s coverage area. In addition to a smaller, upEvergreen Christian Outreach shelter manager Tim Clancy stands in one of the guests rooms at the Evergreen shelter.
PHOTOS BY JANE REUTER
More than a place to sleep
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Evergreen’s EChO shelter changes lives with multi-faceted services BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When Don Kneebone’s longtime Evergreen partner died a year ago, the 80-yearold Army veteran was suddenly homeless. The former truck driver and family man took shelter in his truck, living in it from March to December 2024, telling no one about his circumstances. “It was a little cramped,” he said. “I rolled an old shirt and put it along the door to keep the cold air from coming in and the warm air from going out. But people left me alone; no one never bothered me while I
was sleeping in my truck.” In early December, the truck’s radiator and heater broke. That night, Kneebone got a ride to a Knights of Columbus meeting, where he ran into an old acquaintance — Evergreen Christian Outreach shelter manager Tim Clancy. After the meeting, Clancy brought Kneebone to the Evergreen shelter. There, he received clean clothes, a quiet place to sleep, three meals a day, and the companionship of fellow guests and shelter volunteers.
HAPPENINGS: 7 | VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | PUZZLES: 19
SEE EChO, P9
SEE EL RANCHO, P5
BHOJANIC
P2
BETH EVERGREEN
P4
2025
Longtime Evergreen resident Don Kneebone, who was living in his car, recently moved into his own apartment with help from EChO.
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