Tribune Tri-Lakes 10-16-2013
October 16, 2013
Tri-Lakes
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
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Tri-Lakes Region, Monument, Gleneagle, Black Forest and Northern El Paso County • Volume 48, Issue 42
Citizens to vote on mill levy increase for Westcott Fire district asking for an increase of four mills By Lisa A. Collacott Come November, citizens in the Westcott Fire Protection District will decide whether or not to approve a tax increase to help fund the fire district. Ballot issue 5A is asking for an increase of four additional mills which would bring the mill levy to a total of 11 mills. Citizens of the neighboring Black Forest Fire Protection District approved a mill levy to increase the district’s mills to 10.38 in 2011 and last year citizens approved a mill levy override for the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District to 11.50 mills. One of the reasons the fire district is seeking an MLO is to hire more firefighters. “There’s not enough firefighters,” Assistant Fire Chief Scott Ridings said. “We need to staff out trucks appropriately. It’s better for the community and the firefighters.” The last two years of wild land fires was proof to the district of how they needed to hire more firefighters. Ridings and Fire Chief Vinnie Burns said they have volunteer firefighters but additional fulltime firefighters are still needed. If the MLO is passed it will al-
Westcott Fire Protection District is asking voters to approve a tax measure that would increase the property tax by four mills. If approved the fire district plans to hire more firefighters. Photo by Lisa Collacott low them to bring in more firefighters and make capital improvement projects. It would also help fund equipment needed down the road. It will also help increase wild land mitigation equipment and help to purchase new uniforms and gear for the new firefighters. Burns said if the MLO doesn’t pass they won’t be closing any stations or laying off staff but it will have an effect. “The worst that would happen is inflation would exceed growth.
There will be pay freezes at some point until the economy turns over,” Burns said. The exact wording of the ballot text is: “Shall Donald Westcott Fire Protection District taxes be increased by $982,567 annually, or by such amount as may be raised by the imposition of a mill levy increase of four mills (for a total mill levy of 11 mills) upon taxable property within the district, commencing with the tax collection year 2014 and continuing
each year thereafter as otherwise allowed by law, and by whatever amounts are received each year thereafter, with such revenues, together with any and all other revenues to be collected, retained and spent by the district, with such proceeds to be used for general operations which may include, but are not limited to: funding the general fund of the district, defraying operating expenses of the district, and/or other lawful purposes; and shall the proceeds of such taxes and any investment
income thereon be collected and spent by the district as a voter approved revenue change in 2014, and in each year thereafter without regard to any spending, revenue-raising, or other limitations contained within article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, or Section 29-1-301, Colorado Revised Statutes, and without limiting in any year the amount of other revenues that may be collected and spent by the district?” The last time a mill levy override was approved was in 2002.
Students take a trip into space without leaving earth DCC takes part in annual Space Week By Lisa Collacott Students at Discovery Canyon can’t exactly go into space, but for one week space has come to them. For the past four years, DCC has brought in guests and scheduled events related to the space industry to show students potential careers in the field and get them interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “Space week is to get students interested in science,” Terry Bramschreiber, assistant principal at DCC high school, said. “And to get them interested in space,” added Christa Lundberg, eighth-grade science teacher and DCC math coordinator. In years past, events took place over one day. Bramschreiber said the school decided to extend Space Day to Space Week to coincide with World Space Week. In addition to activities that the students took part in during the day, there were also activities in the evening that the whole family could enjoy. During the week, teachers in each grade level, K-12, incorporated space into their lesson plans. Some of the activities students participated in during the day included a planetarium, demonstration of how a space suit works and videos from astronauts in POSTAL ADDRESS
An elementary school student at DCC tries on a space suit brought over from the Challenger Learning Center. Students learned all about what happens to the body in space, what astronauts eat and drink and how to stay healthy while on a space mission during Space Week. Photo by Lisa Collacott space, space camp presentation, chemistry of rockets, civil air patrol, physics, visits from a flight-test engineer and an astronaut and presentations from the Antarctic project and the University of Colo-
rado at Colorado Springs robots. Evening activities included an open house at the U.S. Space Foundation Discovery Center, a campus wide showing of Apollo 13 and a presentation by astronaut
Jim Dutton on his space shuttle mission. Educators Ron Bush and Tanna George from the Challenger Learning Center, located in Colorado Springs, brought a space suit for elementary students to try on and explained how each part of the suit worked. Students remained attentive and interested as Bush and George showed video clips from astronauts in space including how astronauts make a peanut butter and honey sandwich in space. They talked to students about what happens to the body in space, how space affects the sense of smell and how astronauts stay healthy while in space. “They use resistance to stay active,” Bush said as he told students that the astronauts can’t use weights while in space and showed them a resistance band that is used. “They have to work out two hours a day to stay in shape,” Bush added. Students were also shown a video of astronauts riding an exercise bike on the International Space Station. Middle-school students learned about the chemistry of rockets from Ron Furstenau, a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Furstenau talked about liquid nitrogen and making rocket propellant and enlisted the help of students in a few experiments. Lundberg said the staff at DCC was afraid they would have to cancel Space Week because of the government shutdown but they were able to proceed with the activities as planned.
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