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ELBERT 1.17.13
Elbert County
January 17, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourelbertcountynews.com
Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 117, Issue 51
New commissioners take office Rowland, Ross get down to business By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com Although Elbert County began the new year with the same old problems, it does have two new commissioners. Robert Rowland and Larry Ross took the oath office Jan. 8 in Kiowa, and within 24 hours, the two were appointed chair and vice chair of the board of county commissioners, respectively. As their first official order of business, they established a new citizens’ water advisory committee and considered ending a 2011 moratorium on development involving water and special districts. District 2 Commissioner Kurt Schlegel urged caution in establishing a new committee, pointing to previous boards’ checkered pasts. “We’ve had four water boards in the last
12 years,” Schegel said at a Jan 9 special board meeting. “And each one has failed, for one reason or another. Primarily, because whoever was appointed to those boards or task forces, their integrity, their background and initiatives were called into question due to personal conflicts or political motivation.” Schlegel insisted the group have a very narrow focus and be “tightly contained.” “As part of my administration 12 years ago, I formed the original water board,” said Former District 3 Commissioner John Dunn. “The intent of a water board is to put together a panel of knowledgeable individuals that could help us make decision on where we were going with our water.” Dunn, who agreed with Schlegel, proposed the new committee report to the planning commission rather than directly to the county board. Although little is known about how the committee will look, a resolution was approved to establish the new committee. That committee will report directly to Commissioners continues on Page 8
Elbert County Judge Jeffrey K. Holmes adminsters the oath of office to DIstrict 1 County Commissioner Robert Rowland as Pastor Kevin Weatherby looks on. Rowland and District 3 Commissioner Larry Ross were officialy sworn in at a Jan. 8 ceremony in Kiowa. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
Governor calls for gun checks State of State also mentions civil unions, marijuana, economy By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Gov. John Hickenlooper acknowledged that “there are no easy solutions” to issues involving guns, but said a debate on how best to deal with firearm-related violence is something “our democracy demands.” The Democratic governor, addressing the General Assembly during his annual State of the State speech Jan. 10, also proffered his opinion on one area of gun control that is certain to be one of the most passionately debated topics lawmakers will take up this legislative session. “Let me prime the pump,” Hickenlooper said. “Why not have universal background checks for all gun sales?” That suggestion certainly caught the attention of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. “It is just completely unenforceable,” House Minority Leader Mark Waller, RColorado Springs, said of Hickenlooper’s call for all sales of guns — including those involving person-to-person transactions — be contingent on background checks. But Democrats applauded the governor’s stance. “He made some risky points,” said Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada. “He wasn’t afraid to jump into that.” Gun control, one of many issues that legislators are expected to take up over the next five months of the session, was just one area that Hickenlooper addressed. Economic matters, civil unions and, of course, regulating the marijuana industry were also touched on during his 40-minute remarks.
Capitol Report
Corrine “Cori” Fierkens works with Banjo, a 14-year-old gelding, at Mariah Farms outside Castle Rock. Fierkens is battling Stage 4 cancer and will provide the lead vocals for a Jan. 25 fundraiser at the Hideaway Bar & Grill in Castle Rock. Photo by Rhonda Moore
Woman bravely battles cancer Fundraiser will help pay growing medical bills By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com Corrine Fierkens has come to terms with her cancer diagnosis with a fearless ap-
proach to the present moment, steeped in the awareness that survival depends largely on acceptance. Fierkens has had much to accept on the three-year journey that began when she discovered a lump in her breast. She was a single mother living in Ellicott when she received her first diagnosis of Stage 2 breast cancer. Fierkens, 38, the owner of equine body-work business She Touches Horses, opted to move to Elizabeth to provide her special-needs child better education options and to be closer to her
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clients, who lived from Elizabeth to Douglas County. With her cancer diagnosis came the disclosure that she tested positive for a mutation of the breast cancer-fighting gene, BRCA1.
Mutation causes greater risk
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are tumorsuppression genes present in everyone, according to the National Cancer Center at the National Institutes of Health. Mutation of either gene greatly increases the risk for women of a breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis, said Dr. Sujatha Nallapareddy, oncologist with the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers in Parker. In men, the mutation places the patient at higher risk for breast or prostate cancer, Nallapareddy said. It is a genetic mutation that is higher among families with multiple cases of breast cancer, according to the NIH. In Fierkens’s case, the mutation is prevalent in several maternal family members in Cancer continues on Page 8
Common ground sought
Taking on the issue of gun violence is a top agenda item for this Democratic-controlled General Assembly, especially on the heels of last year’s Aurora theater killings and the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. But just State continues on Page 8