Pikes Peak 9/5/12
Courier-View Pikes Peak
Teller County, Colorado • Volume 51, Issue 36
September 5, 2012
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourtellercountynews.com
Jamison named in lawsuit By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com
A memorial to the three Boy Scouts killed in a car crash June 30 in Wyoming stands on the south side of the Woodland Park High School. The memorial that honors Paul Kekich, Nick Naples and Alex Ragan remains a subject of controversy. Photo by Pat Hill
Memorial back temporarily By Pat Hill
phill@ourcoloradonews.com The memorial to the three Boy Scouts killed in a head-on collision June 30 in Wyoming is back, temporarily, on the south side of Woodland Park High School. The Scouts, Paul Kekich, Nick Naples and Alex Ragan were students at the high school. In July, hundreds of Teller County residents packed the school’s gymnasium for a memorial service that paid tribute to the three scouts. However, the artistic memorial in three parts that names each Scout and appeared on the school grounds this month was subsequently removed by the school district.
At the time, district superintendent Jed Bowman stated that placing the memorial on school property requires approval. Nonetheless, the district has allowed the memorial to remain temporarily. A press release from Del Garrick, the high school principal, addresses the issue. “As our community and schools continue to work through this tragic event, district and school administration are working daily with parents and the community to assist in the healing process. The temporary memorials erected by the family and students that were removed have been relocated to another on-site location. Students are
encouraged to visit the site as needed. Various community organizations are having discussions about a permanent memorial. Additionally, the school district continues to support the students and parents in the grieving process through appropriate channels. As a school district, we believe in community partnership and will look to further support our community and its students as we continue to grow together.” Along with the three Boy Scouts, their leader, Richard Kleiner, was also killed in the accident in Wyoming. Hundreds of mourners packed the memorial service in Divide for Kleiner, who was known for his volunteer work with the Boy Scouts.
Teller County clerk and recorder J.J. Jamison is still on the hot seat. Excoriated last month in a report by the office of Scott Gessler, Colorado’s Secretary of State, Jamison is named in a lawsuit filed Aug. 27 in Denver District Court. Jamison, along with Gessler and Douglas County clerk and recorder Jack Arrowsmith, is charged with violations of duty in the primary election June 26. LuAnn Busse, Republican candidate for House District 39, filed the suit, along with John W. Rosenbaum. Both are listed at the same address in Larkspur. Busse lost the election but requested a recount in both counties. The recount confirmed that Busse lost to her Republican opponent Polly Lawrence. Busse’s lawsuit cited Gessler’s relieving Jamison of her election duties Aug. 13 and the hiring of a new managerial staff to take over all election functions from then on. In Douglas County, Busse claims that ballots were marked with voter-specific bar codes and numbers whereby the voter could be identified. The suit claims that the 2012 primary for House District 39 is the only election at any level in Colorado that suffered the combined violations of duty by officials in Douglas and Teller counties as well as the Secretary of State. “The Secretary of State is about to commit an additional major violation of duty by accepting the results of unlawful primary elections for House District 39 and certifying the invalid results of the general election ballot on or before Sept. 10, 2012.” The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs are suing the Teller County Clerk in her official capacity only. Busse and Rosenbaum are representing themselves in the lawsuit. Teller County commission chair Jim Ignatius declined to comment on the lawsuit.
RE-1 looks at energy updates New Early Head Start, health center near completion By Norma Engelberg
nengelberg@ourcoloradonews.com Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District facilities are set to undergo energy updates. District facilities manager Stuart Peterson focused on current and upcoming projects in a report he made on Aug. 27 to the RE-1 school board. “We have a lot of projects,” he said. “There are both current construction and construction in our future.” Current construction includes a new building for the Cripple CreekVictor Mountain Health Center and an Early Childhood Education Center, both being built at Cresson Elementary School.
“There were delays because of the (Waldo Canyon) fire but the health center is looking at a completion date of Sept. 11,” Peterson said. “The Early Head Start is close to getting its temporary occupancy certificate. ... The permanent occupancy certificate won’t come until we install playgrounds and fencing and pass state inspections. Then we’ll be able to bring in the kids.” District facilities also recently received a two-phase energy audit, funded by the state. The first phase was conducted by Trident Energy and was part of an Energy Management Plan audit. This audit concluded that Cresson Elementary School’s erratic heating and cooling system could benefit from the installation of a Digital Direct Control system. “Because of delays, the energy contractor is giving us very good rates and
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On the right is a corner of the new Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District Early Childhood Education Center while in the center is the district’s new Cripple Creek-Victor Mountain Health Center, which is attached to Cresson Elementary School and was designed to blend into the existing architecture. Both centers are nearing completion. Photo by Norma Engelberg some concessions,” Peterson said. “They’ll start work in mid-October and be finished by Christmas. When it’s finished there should be no more 110-degree days for the school.” The second phase was a SmartWatt audit conducted by Black Hills Energy. It focused on lighting. Black Hills suggested that the district install LED lights at the elementary school and the bus barn. “This work at the school would pay for itself in about 21 months,” Peterson
said. “For the bus barn the payback time is only 13 months. We will be hiring local contractors.” He said he will have plans for these projects ready for discussion and possible approval by the school board at its Sept. 24 meeting. The school board also approved the hiring of a new district art teacher, Beth Seilonen, and talked about the work done by members of the School Based Health Center Advisory Committee.