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Third round: Candidates again address issues for Gilpin County |
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Written by administrator
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Friday, 23 July 2010 |
Rollinsville
About 30 people gathered at the Trackside Tavern in Rollinsville on July 14 for the third of four forums scheduled by Lynn Volkens of the Gilpin County News. On this occasion, the format remained the same as in the previous gatherings, but the order of offices addressed was shifted.
State Senate
Commissioner Jeanne Nicholson, running as a Democrat for the State Senate, did not have to deal with her opposite number at this forum. Consequently, she gave a brief speech expressing her desire to get people back to work, then responded to questions from the crowd. Asked what the main concerns of her district were, she replied that they were pretty much the same throughout the five-county district: loss of jobs; how to strengthen the economy; and how our urban neighbors tend not to understand the importance of forest health to us here in the mountains.
Another question involved getting bicycle riders off mountain roads. Nicholson talked of several ways to keep riders safe while getting them off our winding roads, including a proposed bike trail from the junction of highways 6 and 119 to Black Hawk and on to connect with a trail to the Gilpin School.
Other questions were concerned with medical marijuana and how to fund a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Nicholson stressed that these were issues more for County Commissioners and city councils than for the legislature.
Clerk & Recorder
Moving on to the race for Gilpin Clerk & Recorder, Democratic Candidate Colleen Stewart was the first to speak, responding to a criticism made by Incumbent Jessica Kays at the previous forum. Kays had said that Stewart, despite having worked in the Clerk & Recorder’s office for years, had no experience with the motor vehicle aspect of that office. Stewart responded that the present staff in the motor vehicle office were well-trained and quite capable of running that aspect of the department. Stewart went on to stress that in her department funds from late fees and uninsured motorist fines would go for roads or other county needs rather than to luxuries for her staff.
Rebecca “Becky” Lloyd is Kays’ challenger in the Republican primary. She stressed her extensive experience running organizations “with a friendly, open atmosphere,” and noted that she would institute cross-training of Clerk & Recorder staff so all would be able to work in all three of the office’s areas.
Residency requirement
Asked if they would consider letting staff bring their children to work, both agreed that the office could be flexible enough to permit that in an emergency. They were questioned regarding their determination to live in Gilpin County. Both Lloyd and Stewart assured the crowd that they had each lived in the county for many years and would unquestionably continue to do so.
Questioned about the possibility of same-day voter registration, both said they did not support the idea because there would be too little time to process the registration.
Jessica Kays arrived after the segment allotted for the Clerk & Recorder candidates to speak.
Assessor
Marci Nelson, the Republican candidate, led off the discussion with reference to her management experience and her desire to take part in honorable public service.
Incumbent Democrat Ann Schafer reminded the group that she had been assessor for almost seven years; that she had been appointed from a group of 11 applicants after the position had been vacated by its previous incumbent because of her lengthy experience in mortgage and finance. Schafer reported that she had recently received her appraisal license, which had taken several years. She noted that her department had been praised as being helpful and pleasant.
Asked about Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61, Nelson replied that she wasn’t sure about the effect of 101; that her personal feelings were not relevant, since as assessor she would follow the law. She added that she didn’t like being taxed. Schafer agreed that she would have to follow the law, but in her opinion the fees set by 101 were too low. She continued by saying that all three of these propositions would cost us roads, snowplowing and library services; that we need a certain level of taxation to keep county services running.
Business hours
A question regarding the number of hours each would spend in the office or in a satellite location (probably a home office) elicited slightly different responses. Schafer said she spends about 50 hours a week in the office; that while staff work four ten-hour days, she feels she needs to be in the office every day. Nelson noted that the Courthouse is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day, and that she would be there during those hours.
The final question for the assessor candidates had to do with the “most valuable” service the office offers. Nelson suggested that the tax work-off for seniors would fit that criterion, along with the Senior Homestead Exemption. Schafer pointed out that the Senior Homestead Exemption was variable, depending on the status of the State’s finances. She added that she thought her department’s personal appraisal of properties was extremely valuable, compared with the procedure in most counties of merely plugging figures into a computer.
Commissioner
There were four candidates for District 2 Commissioner: one independent, one Democrat, and two Republicans who are battling it out for their party’s nomination. The first to speak Wednesday night was Democrat Richard Gee, who pointed out that a visitor had remarked that he “lives in paradise.” He wants to keep it that way, stressing the importance of forest health, water, tourism and wildfire prevention.
Lucy Slaughter, one of the Republicans, pointed to her background as a “small-town girl and military brat” who had settled here and wanted to make it her home for her children and grandchildren. She said that “we [the commissioners] need to listen to the people who vote for us,” and that the commissioners need to be accessible to the people in the county.
Del Johnson, the sole independent running, said he wanted to stress fiscal responsibility, as well as treating county residents with honesty and respect. He went on to describe what a scholar named Richard Russell had called “the crash of 2010,” where “the market” had told Russell that there would be “nothing left by the end of the year,” and that the county needed to prepare for that.
Connie McLain, the second Republican, stressed that her family had lived in Colorado “since the 1800s.” She herself was involved with a number of County organizations, including 4-H, the High School Rodeo and the County Fair. Her emphasis was on maintaining Gilpin’s rural mountain character.
Balancing budgets
The four were asked what they would do, as commissioner, to balance the county’s budget without taking out a tax anticipation loan. Slaughter said each department would need to take a hard look at its budget and decide what to cut. Johnson had a plan to eliminate $4 million from the county budget – about 20 percent -- with no layoffs; this would include eliminating holiday pay and overtime, end contract labor, reduce benefits, and end professional services, travel and lodging and service contracts.
McLain’s solution was closer to Slaughter’s, suggesting department heads could determine where to cut, and wanting to encourage more private industry in the county. Gee pointed out the problems with Johnson’s “solution,” noting that most of the overtime in the county budget was for sheriff’s deputies. He said that he would be responsible in balancing the budget, cutting only those areas that really needed to be cut.
Favored programs
Asked about programs they would favor, Johnson, stated that Gilpin is a “net producer of energy,” would open our forests to private enterprise in order to improve the use of biomass for energy. McLain built on this, noting that Gilpin was good for solar and wind energy and that it would be good “to get the dead wood out of the forest.” Gee, who said he has already met with the area’s energy coordinator, also stressed the importance of alternative forms of energy and sustainable businesses; he also mentioned the importance of a coordinated tourism policy, light industry in North Gilpin and local solutions to beetle kill. Slaughter agreed with all that had gone before, adding that it would be good to have a store to support tourism.
There was little enthusiasm for buying a new chipper, but a wealth of suggestions for ways to help Gilpin kids “live their dream.” Similarly, although their approaches were different, all four tended to agree that any solutions to zoning for medical marijuana needed to wait until the State finishes its rulemaking regarding the legislation just passed in 2010.
Sheriff
Another four-man race, the competition for candidates for Sheriff include two Republicans, a Democrat and an independent. Incumbent Bruce Hartman started the presentations by pointing out that the County voted in 2001 to eliminate term limits for the office of Sheriff, and he had been re-elected twice since then. He added that he had an honest, good staff that has integrity, and he asked the voters to look at his department’s track record regarding snowstorms, car crashes, and wildfires.
Democrat Jerry Yocom addressed the smear campaign that has surfaced since the last forum, laying open his history with having been fired from a previous law enforcement job many years ago because of a false accusation. There had never been charges laid, and his department had simply fired him rather than deal with the actual issues. He had since been hired as a law enforcement officer by the Gilpin County Sheriff at that time, and moved on to become the very successful police chief of Black Hawk just when it was going through the changes brought about by gaming. He added that, as a result, he knows what it’s like to work in a department that lacks integrity, and that his department would be the complete opposite.
George Weidler, who is challenging Hartman for the Republican nomination, emphasized his background in having lived in Colorado since 1973 and Gilpin County since 2001. He is the chief of police and lead investigator in Georgetown.
Jake Adler, the independent, at 35 has been a police officer for 13 years, seeing major changes in law enforcement during that time. He is presently second in command in Nederland.
Shooting range? DUIs?
All four candidates responded enthusiastically in favor of a shooting range for Gilpin County. All four also expressed the importance of educating the public – and especially operators of licensed establishments – about preventing DUIs. Hartman noted that Gilpin has a full-time officer and patrol car to deal with this issue as a result of receiving grants from the Law Enforcement assistance Fund (LEAF).
A question was asked about candidates having faced disciplinary actions. Yocom, having already addressed the issue, opted out of responding. The others pointed to minor issues, often having to do with their responsibility for those under their supervision.
Posses? Programs? Marijuana?
Referring to a question as to whether they would ever deputize county citizens, all four agreed that such action might only be taken in case of emergency or the necessity of crowd control. Regarding what additional programs they would like to see, they again tended to agree that if the funds were there, it would be good to have a citizens’ academy.
There was again basic agreement about the use of marijuana. All agreed medical marijuana was here to stay, and that it probably was beneficial. Only Hartman demurred slightly, adding that there has not been enough research done on the effects of the various “chemicals” in marijuana smoke.
Unopposed candidates: Coroner and Treasurer
The two unopposed candidates, incumbents Zane Laubhan for Coroner and Alynn Huffman for Treasurer, each spoke for a few minutes. Each emphasized that they loved their jobs and asked for votes. |
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Written by administrator
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Monday, 19 July 2010 |
All school celebration for ANYONE that ever went through Nederland schools begins Friday July 23rd and ends Sunday July 25th.
Friday 7pm Arm Wrestling at the Pioneer Inn and Old fashioned dance with Dana Kyle Stokes 8pm at the Pioneer Inn.
Saturday 8am to 10am community pancake breakfast (First Street Pub), Noon Parade with LOTS of contests including best "class" entry (Up First Street and down Second Street), 1pm ALL SCHOOL Picnic lunch at Chipeta Park (hot dogs and hamburgers provided- bring a side dish and picnic ware for your family), 2pm Ice Cream social at Chipeta Park. 8pm Bonfire (email
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before noon Friday for details).
Sunday 8am to 10am community pancake breakfast (First Street Pub).
Also, Miners Days events all weekend at Guercio field. |
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Written by administrator
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 |
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Barbara Lawlor
Nederland
From the pedestrian bridge in town, to the Chipeta Park pavilion, to the veteran’s memorial, to the Weir Bridge over the inlet to Barker Reservoir, the tags EOS and RS cover walls, murals and foundations in dark blue and orange paint. The painting has spread to the inside and outside of the community center. Drippy, dark, ominous looking graffiti letters bring to Town an element of the city.
Nederland business owners and the Police Department are frustrated with the defacing assault that has been going on for months. Just when one batch of graffiti is scrubbed off, another batch appears.
The police are certain that local teens are doing the tagging which, at one point, was a criminal mischief misdemeanor but has escalated into felony status. It is costing big bucks to clean up the mess. Although people have described the teens and say they know who is doing it, right now, the police don’t have the evidence to prove it and to name one suspect or another.
When these teens are charged with a felony for the damage they’ve done, their parents will be liable for the cost of cleaning the spray paint off the walls. In the case of the murals on the bridge, the landscapes of our surrounding, created by a local artist many years ago, may not be reparable. Scrubbing off the spray paint could ruin the painting.
Town of Nederland Public Works Supervisor Tim Underwood said that he and his staff have already put in $2,000 to $3,000 worth of man hours in cleaning up the mess. “The bad part is that when we clean it up, they hit it again. My mission and goal is to not leave their ‘precious artwork’ up for anyone to see. It looks terrible. I am thinking we should put up sensors that spurt red dye out at the taggers, like in bank robberies.”
Underwood said he hired Kevin, the Harvest, the artist who did the murals over 10 years ago and Kevin is willing to redo the landscapes that have been marred. The paintings have been undamaged for all that time.
NPD Officer Larry Johns has been investigating the tagging and said business owners are disgusted that local kids, knowing how hard people have worked to make Nederland an aesthetically pleasing town, would have the insensitivity to splash public places with symbolic gangland tagging.
Even if there is a teen out there asking for help, he or she has dragged a group of other kids into the act, all of whom will be held accountable for the damage done.
Officer Johns asks that if anyone sees someone walking around with a spray paint can, they should contact the police. Ace Hardware owner Steve Culver said his employees won’t sell spray paint to a teen under 16 who is not with a parent.
Other kids out there know who is doing this. Johns hopes that perhaps the businesses could get together and offer a reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit or culprits.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said.
Underwood said the dragnet is closing in on the kids and every tag they make is only getting them in deeper. 
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