One of Erik Stone’s first actions as a Teller County commissioner was to praise his predecessors, Marc Dettenrieder, Norm Steen and Bob Campbell. Dettenrieder and Steen’s terms have expired, but Campbell retains his seat on the board.

“They are the only reason that the (Cripple Creek) casinos are open and people are working, the only reason our restaurants are fully open,” Stone said.

Stone was referring to the letter of May 29 when the commissioners asked for a variance from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to reopen the casinos. At the time, the county was under the Stay at Home restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The letter cites the devastating impact the casinos’ closure had on the city of Cripple Creek as well as area businesses.

The letter assures the director, Jill Ryan, that the local casino industry had prepared safety protocols in line with guidelines issued by the state as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To strengthen their argument, the commissioners cited the county’s low case count of COVID-19, adequate hospital capacity and testing ability.

The commissioners got the variance and the casinos opened June 15.

“It is due to their actions that, literally, thousands of people not only have jobs, but (have) jobs in a very critical time … holiday times,” Stone said. “The commissioners were not doing it from a political point but from a scientific and metrics-based point. I want to applaud them for that work.”

Commissioner Dan Williams concurred while citing the cooperative spirit inherent to Teller County government. “I think what you saw today was a peaceful transition because the county staff, the administrator and our great commissioners allowed us to get involved at a very early point,” he said.

Williams contrasted the transition in Teller County with the violence and destruction involved in the transition from one administration to another in Washington, D.C. “We’re at a critical time right now,” he said. “Change and uncertainty can be a little frightening for a lot of folks; we’ve got examples all over our country now where transition is not being done appropriately. It’s our hope that that with Erik and I and Bob as your new team, we continue to serve at a really critical time.”