Tri-Lakes
Tribune
Tri-Lakes Region, Monument, Gleneagle, Black Forest and Northern El Paso County • Volume 47, Issue 42
BOWLS EMPTY NO MORE
October 17, 2012
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourtrilakesnews.com
Residents to vote on three tax issues Brief re-cap of issues affecting Tri-Lakes area By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews.com
Three issues that affect the Tri-Lakes area will be on the Nov. 6 ballot. All three are tax issues with one issue specifically affecting the area and the other two affecting the entire county.
5C
Hundreds showed up at Lewis-Palmer High School for a dinner of soup, bread and dessert. They also went home with a beautifully crafted ceramic bowl made from local potters and students. All proceeds went to support Tri-Lakes Cares. See story Page 5 Photo by Lisa Collacott
D-20 puts AED’s in all schools Staff to receive training on how to use devices By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews. com Academy School District 20 is thinking with their hearts. The welfare of their students is of the utmost importance therefore there will soon be automated external defibrillators in all their schools. If they haven’t received them already they will be anytime now. All elementary and middle schools will each have one AED and all high schools will have two. D-20 Chief of Security Larry Borland said the defibrillators will be placed in a public area where
The Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District is asking citizens for a mill levy increase to help fund district operations. The district is asking for an increase of the property tax rate of 3.00 mills which would increase the current 8.50 mills to 11.50 mills. If approved the increase would be approximately $1,034,208 annually to the district and help the district to continue operations at current staffing levels and response times and will help fund facility and equipment upgrades. TLMFD has said that failure to pass the mill levy increase will result in the closure of one fire station and the lay-off of staff members.
1A
Ballot measure 1A asks voters of El Paso County for taxes to be increased by $17 million annually to directly fund public safety needs. 1A would increase the county’s sales and use tax rate by twenty-three hundredths of one cent ($0.0023) per dollar. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa has identified urgent law enforcement, criminal justice and emergency response needs. The needs includes hiring, employing and training additional patrol and detention deputies, replacing obsolete and failing communication equipment and video surveillance, fuel, ammunition, operational equipment, supplies, maintenance at the county jail, purchasing a wild land fire truck and hiring additional emergency planning and operations staff.
5A
Automated external defibrillators are used to shock the heart back to a normal rhythm in a person who has a cardiac arrhythmia. All D-20 schools will receive AED’s with the high schools receiving two. Photo by Lisa Collacott access to them is convenient. The second defibrillator in the high school will be for the athletic trainers to take out on the
POSTAL ADDRESS
field during athletic activities. “We felt that the AED’s were important to have,” Borland said. AED’s are small portable devices that can treat cardiac arrhythmias by giving an electrical shock to help it return the heart to a normal rhythm. “For certain kinds of arrhythmias it can be the difference between life and death,” Borland said. AED’s are often found in public places such as restaurants, airplanes, stadiums,
shopping centers, fitness centers, theme parks and schools. Borland said there will be training for staff members on how to use the AED’s. “We hope we never have to use them,” he added. The cost of the defibrillators is approximately $65,000 to $70,000. The money to purchase them came from the general fund. Borland helps to have all the schools equipped with the AED’s by Oct. 31.
5A asks the voters to extend the existing 0.55 percent (fifty-five one hundredths of one penny per dollar) of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s sales and use tax to fund PPRTA’s capital program. The current sales and use tax will sunset on Dec. 31, 2014 and if voters approve the measure the tax will sunset on Dec. 31, 2024. The county has several road and bridge projects that it will complete if 5A passes including some in the Tri-Lakes area. Beacon Lite Road, Monument Hill Road and Colo. 105 are just some of the roads on the list. Several of the county’s projects are regional collaborative projects with the city or Colorado Springs. Citizens should have received Tabor notices in the mail on the tax issues. The notice contains arguments for and against each measure.
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