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Teller County, Colorado • Volume 52, Issue 23
June 5, 2013
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourtellercountynews.com
23 students graduate from CC-V High School By Norma Engelberg
nengelberg@ourcoloradonews. com
The Woodland Park High School Class of 2013 checked in early for the school’s 78th Commencement on May 24 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs. Photo by Norma Engelberg
WPHS celebrates commencement By Norma Engelberg
nengelberg@ourcoloradonews. com Woodland Park seniors know how to make a graduation fun. At school’s 78th annual commencement on May 25, many of the 187 students on the school’s unofficial graduate list brought in noisemakers and beach balls (and one blow-up poodle), wore sunglasses, decorated their caps and carried a nonperishable food item and a rubber ducky. They used the noisemakers and sent the beach balls flying whenever anyone at the speaker’s podium said “Class of 2013.” Many of the speakers said the phrase over and over just to increase the noise factor. The food items went into a box for the needy in the names of two students who died in a traffic ac-
cident last summer, Nick Naples and Alex Ragan. Naples’ parents received his diploma posthumously. The rubber duckies, along with a few duck decoys and a toy tiger, went to Principal Del Garrick when the students picked up their diplomas. Commencement started with the processional, which was followed by the National Anthem sung by members of the Junior Madrigals. Other musical numbers were provided by the Madrigals and the Senior Choir. Guest speakers included Salutatorian Kelsey Siebel, Valedictorian Anjolenna Lutz, who gave her definition of success, and Keynote Speaker Joe Roskam, who gave his own definition of success that wasn’t based on striking it rich. “We’re told to pursue happiness, we’re not entitled to it,”
Cripple Creek-Victor High School graduates and their families and friends gathered on May 25 in the junior high/high school gymnasium for the Cripple CreekVictor RE-1 School District’s 117th annual commencement. The graduation of 23 students was a mixture of nostalgia and tradition as students proceeded into the gym one at a time down the red carpet. The students earned more than $115,000 in scholarships. Many of those sponsored by local organizations were handed out at commencement. Superintendent Sue Holmes also pointed out that 100 percent of the students have been accepted by colleges and universities. The class chose teachers Susan Van’t Hul and Regina Viktorin as their keynote speakers. As part of her address, Viktorin had the visiting kindergartners, the Class of 2025, recite the alphabet for the graduates. The kindergartners recited it backwards. Teacher Penni Donnato recited a poem she wrote for the occasion. Traditions include the playing
of a video showing each student’s baby photo, graduation photo and favorite quote. In another nod to tradition, after students received their diplomas, they also received handfuls of flowers to give to their family members. This year the flowers were single white roses. After the commencement exercise, students met with visitors over cake and punch in the high school commons, another tradition.
Cripple Creek-Victor High School Class of 2013
Kara Isabella Abasta, Cale lee Brown, Darren Thomas Caddy (Salutatorian), Darien Amber Carrillo (co-Valedictorian), Jaimi Christine Cloud, Josephine Mackenzie Cloud, Haley Susan Hute (co-Valedictorian), Dane Alexander Hutson, Christopher James Irelan, Rachel Marie Kramp, Richard Charles Larsen, Nikolai James Kashin Louritt, Wyatt Earl McClure, Dustin McClintock Osborn, Branden Edward Oxley, Meggan Lee Peiffer, Jordan Adair Ratteree, Olivia Ellen Ruiz Larsen, Samantha Louise Skottegaard, Kayla Breanne Smith, Julia Diane Stoneking, Stephanie Vel-Flusa and Amelia Grace Wierman.
he said. “Graduation gives you a clean slate. What are you going to do with that? … If you love what you do you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Woodland Park RE-2 School District Superintendent ended his speech with advice given to him by his youngest son two years ago when he was 4 years old: “Be happy for summer.”
Woodland Park High School Class of 2013
Justin Michael Alday, Edward Thomas Allen, Kasey Mariah Allen, Jude Fahad Al-Mutlaq, Blake William Anstett, Alexander Lynn Anthony, Peyton Nicole Ashcraft, Summer Lily Baker, Jessica Erin Bates, Kieran Zo-an Bennett, Shannon Marie Bingen, Cole Evan Brown, Jayson Andrew Brown, WPHS continues on Page 8
Cripple Creek-Victor High School 2013 graduate Samantha Skottegaard leads her classmates and their families with the singing of the national anthem at the school’s 117th commencement exercise on May 25. Photo by Norma Engelberg
IREA fights renewable standard By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews. com
Mike Kopp, manager of corporate affairs for Intermountain Rural Electric Association, talks about the cooperative’s opposition to SB 252, which has yet to be signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Photo by Pat Hill
As two sides of the renewable-energy mandate hold their collective breath over whether Gov. John Hickenlooper will sign SB 252 by June 7, the opposition weighs in on the bill passed by the Colorado General Assembly last month. The bill doubles the renewable energy standard
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from 10 to 20 percent by 2020 for the state’s largest electric associations, which includes Intermountain Rural Electric Association that serves Teller County. “We want to be able to control costs for our customers, so any time a bill has a mandate that causes us to spend money unnecessarily, at a minimum we’re going to raise our eyebrows and probably try to stop the requirement,” said Mike Kopp, manager of corporate affairs for IREA. At issue for the co-op is the secretive nature of the bill sponsored by John Morse, senate president, Mark Ferrandino, House speaker, and Gail Schwartz, state representative from Snowmass Village. All are Democrats. “We engaged in good faith with both Republi-
cans and Democrats yet the sponsors introduced the bill without as much as a simple phone call to us,” Kopp said. “The bill was hatched in secret, sprung on the General Assembly and rural-electric customers without any advance notice.” It’s the mandate part that riles co-op directors. As it is, Kopp said, Colorado has excess generation capacity. “Then the General Assembly comes along and wants us to build more of a certain kind of electrical-generating capacity, even though it’s not needed,” Kopp said. “When we are able to draw our power allotment from Comanche 3 our prices stay down.” According to an article in the Colorado Independent newspaper, published Aug. 20, 2011, IREA invested $366 million in the coal-
fired plant and is a onequarter partner in the Xcel Energy operation. “It almost doesn’t matter how cheap renewable energy is if we have to reduce an expensive asset like the Comanche 3 in order to bring the wind onto the system. There is real cost in doing that,” Kopp said. IREA receives 9 percent of its power from renewable-energy sources. “We have a pretty green system but there comes a point when we’d like to see the legislature be more mindful of the cost impact of these policies,” Kopp said. The association buys power from Xcel Energy, including some renewable sources. “It’s a mix of qualifying sources, including wind,” he said. “The general IREA continues on Page 4