Monument Hill Kiwanis supports The Salvation Army

Since 2015, the Monument Hill Kiwanis club has collected more than $317,000 and provided 4,224 hours of bell ringing to benefit The Salvation Army, states a news release from MHKC. With The Salvation Army’s rate of $13 an hour to hire bell ringers, that equates to $54,912 of expenses avoided with the club’s help.

This year, Kiwanis is committed to providing ringers at three Monument locations for eight hours a day for 14 days. That’s 336 hours of volunteers’ time (which translates to a value of $4,386 of services). In addition to Kiwanis members and guests, the Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer high schools’ Student Leadership Programs, Tri-Lakes Women’s Club and Boy Scout Troop 17 volunteer. Go to bit.ly/3VN7WVP to find the donation form for The Salvation Army.

• • •

Pikes Peak Ranger District conducts thinning around Monument Fire Center facility

Areas around the Monument Fire Center facility, located three miles west of Monument in the Pikes Peak Ranger District of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, closed Nov. 28 for a fuels treatment project, according to a USDA news release. Closed areas include National Forest System Trail 715. The Forest Service Order and map can be found at fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices (2022-16 Monument Fire Center Area Closure).

The goal of this project is to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, create fuel breaks in strategic locations, and restore a more complex vegetation structure to improve forest health, watersheds, and wildlife habitat. Crews will utilize hand-thinning techniques and large mulching equipment. The project will protect ponderosa pine islands and large oak trees and remove ladder fuels, such as Gambel Oak and other woody brush, to encourage pine regeneration.

• • •

Family-Friendly ‘Hometown Christmas’ set for Dec. 17

“A Hometown Christmas” family-friendly celebration, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at Black Forest Community Center, 12539 Black Forest Road, will feature holiday music from Monument band Ashtonz, home-prepared foods, crafts for kids and a visit from St. Nick.

The event is sponsored by Timberview Animal Hospital, Sweetwater Flower Market, My Door Company, Black Forest Foods and Café and Wesley Owens Coffee. Admission is $18 for adults, $9 for kids 12 and under. Go to HometownChristmas2022.eventbrite.com or call 719-649-0058.