WEEK OF MAY 29, 2025
VOLUME 130 | ISSUE 13
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Douglas County commissioners prevail in suit on transparency Judge says evidence doesn’t support request for preliminary injunction BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Representatives from the Town of Elizabeth and the Main Street Board of Directors came to celebrate the new mural at 86 & Main. From left, David Cox, Alex Cramer, Dianna Hiatt, Staci Beauford, Audrey Sayles, Brandon Jeffress, Aleta Jeffress, Carrie Wedel, Linda Bulmer, Jeff Struthers and Kurt Prinslow. PHOTO BY NICKY QUINBY
Mural adds new color to Elizabeth 86 & Main comes to life with sprawling artwork BY NICKY QUINBY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
The northern face of 86 & Main in downtown Elizabeth is no longer a blank white wall but has been transformed with a dynamic new mural. On May 16, representatives from the Town of Elizabeth, the owners of 86 & Main, and the muralists themselves all came
together to celebrate the installation. The mural, which reads “Historic Downtown Elizabeth” and serves as the entrance to Main Street, portrays several iconic images. Brandon Jeffress, the new owner of 86 & Main, said he and his wife wanted to include certain themes. “The train used to go through town. Mountains in the distance. Rodeo and ranch-
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | CALENDAR: 17 | PUZZLES: 18
ing is the root of our community. Grasslands with wildflowers are all over. The American flag still flies as it is the pride for our country,” he said. The white paint Jeffress chose to use on the exterior of 86 & Main is called Keim, a mineral paint that bonds to the wall. It allows bricks and mortar to breathe and is excellent for historic buildings as well as Colorado’s freeze and thaw cycles. To maintain those benefits, the mural won’t be sealed and will
be well-protected on the north side of the building. Audrey Sayles and Staci Beauford are the talents behind Some Girls and a Mural. Sayles and Beauford are not just business partners, but cousins who have been painting together for seven years. “Staci had been commissioned to paint `Heart of Harvest’ and had asked me to join in,” Sayles explained. “And we really just fell into it. Seven SEE MURAL, P12
A Douglas County judge on May 20 denied a preliminary injunction request made by Rep. Robert Marshall, former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas and Lone Tree resident Julie Gooden. District Court Judge Robert Lung found there were no violations of Colorado’s Open Meetings Law during the Douglas County Commissioners’ advanced planning meetings and elected officials luncheons. On April 22, Marshall, Thomas and Gooden filed a lawsuit against the Douglas County Commissioners claiming that the board had discussed public matters, like home rule, in a series of “behind closed doors” and “without public notice” meetings. Earlier this month, Lung heard testimony regarding the Open Meetings Law violation claims and requested that both parties submit a proposal. According to the ruling obtained by the Douglas County NewsPress, the court had to determine, based on evidence, if the Open Meetings Law applies to advanced planning meetings. The ruling states: “While the court is unwilling to rule that a discussion about an election can never implicate a policy-making function, the court is satisfied that there was no evidence of any policy-making function at these advance planning meetings and therefore, on the evidence before the court, the Open Meetings Law did not apply to these meetings.” Lung also decided that the elected officials luncheons were not subject to the state’s Open Meetings Law. He noted that the March 25 adoption of the two resolutions concerning SEE LAWSUIT, P16
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