The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF OCTOBER 31, 2024
VOLUME 65 | ISSUE 50
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Inter-Canyon Fire to hold public hearings on two district exclusions One proposal tied to unification, other from neighborhood seeking inclusion in West Metro Fire BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
But what Thomas saw there many years ago that changed the course of his life was something simple: happiness. “There were all these unbelievably happy people around me. I was like, ‘How can you be so happy? You’re living in these horrid conditions.’ I decided to start opening my eyes to what it was that made them so happy.” Thomas found it was linked to their belief in God, the family unit and their roles and responsibilities to their community. “It’s a dangerous place, and they have
The Inter-Canyon Fire board will host two public hearings on exclusion during its Nov. 13 meeting — one required for its proposed unification with the Elk Creek and North Fork fire districts, the second a request from a neighborhood that wants to leave the district. State statute requires a property to exclude from one fire protection district before it can be included in another. Under the unification proposal, both InterCanyon and Elk Creek must exclude their properties from their own districts before they can unify under the North Fork Fire Protection District. They will then change the merged organization’s name to the Conifer Fire Protection District. Meanwhile, the White Deer Valley neighborhood wants to be excluded from Inter-Canyon, and become part of the West Metro Fire Protection District. The 53 residents of the upscale neighborhood near Deer Creek Canyon Park are on the east edge of Inter-Canyon’s service area, and HOA President Tom Gebes said the Conifer fire agency’s response times are delayed by the distance. A study showed response times to the neighborhood would be faster under West Metro. “Several community members have received delayed emergency medical response from this primarily volunteer dis-
SEE UGANDA, P4
SEE EXCLUSION, P6
Thomas poses with the girls soccer team at the Uganda Youth Aid School in Kampala, Uganda. Speakers for Africa provided the soccer uniforms COURTESY OF SPEAKERS FOR AFRICA and equipment.
Conifer resident leads nonprofit dedicated to helping Ugandans Speakers for Africa aims to help one of Africa’s poorest but most joyful countries BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Conifer resident Peyton Thomas was a sullen 12-year-old when his mother moved the two of them to Uganda, where she had taken a job as a teacher at a Christian elementary school.
“I hated it,” Thomas said. “I did not know why my mom would ever bring me to such a place. She promised me I would find something there that would change my life and make me a better person. She was 100% right.” Today, Thomas, 39, is executive director of a nonprofit called Speakers for Africa, an organization he founded that’s dedicated to providing school supplies, financial aid and facilities to Ugandan children. Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has been heavily impacted by infectious diseases, according to Brown University.
HAPPENINGS: 7 | VOICES: 10 | SHERIFF’S CALLS: 11 | LIFE: 14 | PUZZLES: 24
CANYONCOURIER.COM • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA