Courier View Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak
Teller County, Colorado • Volume 52, Issue 20
May 15, 2013
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourtellercountynews.com
The Green Mountain Falls’ Public Works Department is spending the next few months mitigating the town’s roads in preparation for clearing the way for emergency vehicles, and in turn, the residents, in case of another command to evacuate.Courtesy photo
GMF evacuation routes cleared By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com As severe drought slams up against predictions of dangerous rainstorms, the town of Green Mountain Falls is vulnerable to both. With funds from an anonymous donor, the public works department is removing barriers in the town’s right-of-ways. “The whole point is to make
the roadways safe, safety devices visible and access to hydrants better,” said Rob McArthur, the department’s director. “We’re just fortunate to have the funds to be able to do this.” The project gets into full swing June 4, beginning with the roads on the east side of town and gradually moving west to finally mitigate every road in a three-year project.
‘If an emergency response vehicle can get where they need to go, so can everybody else.’ Rob McArthur, department director
Crews working for the Green Mountain Falls’ Public Works Department cut tree limbs to clear an escape path in the town’s rights-of-way , in the event of another catastrophic fire or flood. Courtesy photo While last year’s week-long evacuation during the Waldo Canyon Fire was successful, this project is designed to make the ingress-egress routes safer and more effective for the police and fire departments, McArthur said. “If emergency response vehicles can get where they need to go, so can everybody else,” he said. “That’s always been our priority, whether it’s tree mitigation, dirt
work or snow plowing, with the residual benefits for the residents and taxpayers.” There’s a two-fold benefit to the project. “This is a way for us to put some kids to work, to use that energy and effort for the betterment of the community,” McArthur said. “We’re hiring college kids who are local, some who graduated from Manitou Springs High School.”
To ensure adherence to forestry regulations, Jinnie Grigsby, the town’s forestry technician, is overseeing the project. “If we have to limb-out a tree she’ll be there to make sure it’s done properly,” McArthur said. Quizzed for the identity of the donor, McArthur said, “It’s an organization that is very much interested in the wellbeing of the region.”
From brown water to sinkhole, district woes persist By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com Troubles keep mounting for the Florissant Water & Sanitation District when a water main broke the afternoon of May 7. By the time officials turned off the main, 80,000 gallons of chlorinated water had flooded the road at Hillside Drive and left a cavernous sinkhole. “Nobody could get the water main turned off,” said Jeff McCammon, who is concerned that his entire house will slide down the hillside. “Our house is literally on stilts.” Happens every time. When 80,000 gallons of chlorine water leaked from a broken water main, sinkholes happen. This The break in the water main is nothone occurred on Hillside Drive in Florissant when a water main operated by the Florissant Water & Sanitation District ing new for the water company’s customfroze and broke, flooding the road. While a broken water main is not unusual for the water district, the fact that ers. “This is an ongoing problem; the main breaks every year, leaving a six-inch layer of nobody showed up to turn off the valve sealed the fate of homes on Hillside Drive. Courtesy photo by Jeff McCammon ice,” McCammon said. With no response from the water comPOSTAL ADDRESS pany, McCammon called in the troops. “The sheriff’s department, the water division and the EPA came out,” he said. Printed on recycled The break, which took out the stairs in newsprint. Please the home, is particularly frightening for the recycle this copy. McCammons, who invested $7,800 in a cistern in January.
‘Nobody could get the water main turned off. Our house is literally on stilts.’ Jeff McCammon “We’re not even part of their water-delivery system,” McCammon said. Nonetheless, the McCammon home is the poster child for what has gone wrong with the water company. Cited by the Water Quality Division of Colorado’s public health department, the district has consistently dispensed brown water to its customers. With a meeting at 6 p.m. May 14 of the district board, customers are hoping to find solutions, to the perennial freeze problem as well as the brown water.