Whose truth are you buying?

Mr. Walton, it is easy to see where you get your information about Renee Good being shot to death by an ICE employee, and the videos you did not see or did not care to pay attention to.

It seems any news agency labeled liberal by conservatives deserves no notice, and that is what I would tell you if my objective were your compliance with my views only. But as you claim truth to be your goal, this is mine also. You chide her cousin for believing Renee’s death was murder, without determination, by the only people authorized to investigate (the feds have yet to tell us what we saw and studied), and then ask what it would be called if Renee had “succeeded’ in running down the ICE man.

I would call it a fairy tale since she tried to avoid him, first backing up and then turning the wheels away from the agent, and in fact, he was fine enough to fire the kill shots as she passed by. ICE wanted her to leave, then scared her into leaving, then killed her when she tried. ‘Get out of the car’ was an attempt to punish her for peaceful assembly. Shooting her was an attempt to enforce intimidation of the masked, secret police. Because it happened again a few days later. Then outrage stopped it because we still have elections. I propose liberty over totalitarianism.

Richard Allee, Florissant

Give me a break

At the end of the article Derek Waggoner’s quote is “I’m hell bent on making this town a destination of entertainment, music, food, whatever. I think this is the first pebble in the pond.”

My response is to say give me a break!!! As with most developers what he is hell bent on is lining his pockets and obviously thinks he’s found a cash cow in Woodland Park.

What has Tava House done for the city of Woodland Park so far? They forced the move of the Cog railroad car. They have impacted what people see when they stop at the rest area. When people used to stop at the rest area they were offered some history of the area and most important a beautiful view of Pikes Peak. Now when they stop they get to look at a building. Highway 24 going through Woodland Park is already congested and now will possibly get worse with this new restaurant.

Investors are looking for TIF financing of $1.5 million because “We had no idea of the scope of improvements.” Sounds like poor planning. There are a lot of people who live in Woodland Park and the surrounding area because we enjoy(ed) the small town. With his hell bent plans it won’t be long before that is gone.

Gee Derek, maybe you can partner with Buc-ee’s and get one of their unsightly stores up here.

Sharon Ferguson, Woodland Park

Big consequences

The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in O’Connell v. Woodland Park School District carries a lesson far beyond Woodland Park: open-meetings laws only protect the public when notice is meaningful and enforcement is real.

Colorado’s Open Meetings Law isn’t satisfied just because a board holds a meeting. The public must receive clear notice of what will actually be discussed or decided. Vague agenda labels like “housekeeping,” “updates,” “miscellaneous”, may be convenient, but they undermine the core purpose of open government which is giving residents a fair chance to show up, listen, and participate before decisions are made.

The Supreme Court reinforced a practical point that matters to ordinary citizens: when a public body violates the law and only “fixes” the problem after someone sues, it doesn’t escape accountability. Fee-shifting is what makes transparency enforceable for people who don’t have government lawyers on salary. Without it, boards can force residents to litigate and then try to erase the consequences with a last-minute do-over.

This is especially important in small counties like Teller, where influence can concentrate and informal decision-making can quietly replace deliberation in public. The answer isn’t less participation—it’s clearer agendas, timely notice, genuine discussion, and prompt correction when mistakes happen.

The takeaway is simple: open meetings must be real, not ritual. If public bodies want trust, they should invite the public in—starting with telling the public, plainly, what’s on the agenda.

Toni Moore, Florissant

Attacks won’t solve STR Issue

As a resident of WP since 2022, my comments are based on observation and conversations with neighbors. I support Mary’s position on Short Term Rentals (STRs) and am concerned that the discussion has shifted from policy to personal attacks. Criticism is part of civic life, but dismissive rhetoric does not strengthen our community.

Mary’s position is rooted in principle. As she has said, “We should be a city that protects our citizens’ rights, and challenge any laws that pose a threat to those rights.” Woodland Park has a longstanding history as a seasonal and tourism-driven community. While today it is largely owner-occupied, demand for short-term rentals remains, and property owners have operated within established legal frameworks that respect individual rights — a tradition in Teller County.

Importantly, Mary has expressed openness to reasonable regulation. She supports examining responsible limits on STR density and implementing safeguards that preserve safety and neighborhood character. What she opposes is overly restrictive government action that removes lawful rights from property owners without clear constitutional grounding.

Her decision to pursue the appeal of Ordinance 1469 reflects a belief that protecting constitutional principles benefits all residents, regardless of their position on STRs. Whether one agrees or disagrees, that stance deserves substantive debate.

Woodland Park needs leadership that balances community character with individual rights. Respectful dialogue — not personal attacks — will lead to better outcomes for everyone.

Brian Bosse, Woodland Park

Forum on home insurance

I was happy that there is community acknowledgement of the affordability crisis regarding homeowners’ insurance premiums, and availability. We found out at the Forum Feb. 7, it is hail making up more of our homeowners insurance premium than fire. Insurance companies pay out more for hail than fire in Colorado. There is not much we can do to mitigate that risk, we can do something to lessen the risk of fire, and fire is dangerous and terrifying, as well as potentially devastating financially.

I am looking forward to the next forum Feb. 28, with more seating, and hoping for information and resources about how to prevent our homes from burning and to be prepared, where to get up to date information, evacuation routes, available shelters for people and animals, what to take if you are evacuated. If we want to mitigate for fire risk individually what resources are available on how to mitigate for fire and how to get help, physical and financial, to do so? What do we need to do to be a Firewise Community to be safer and will it would help make our homeowners insurance more affordable? It would be nice to have the information garnered from these forums available in one place.

KM Strong, Woodland Park

No to Sekowski

Mary Sekowski, City Council candidate and Merit Academy treasurer, spoke at the January school district board meeting. She commented on Merit’s discussions with the District concerning the “Total Opportunity Initiative”. District CFO confirmed at the 1/18/2026 district meeting that there is no record anywhere of this discussion.

More important is the discussions between the District and Merit that Sekowski did not mention to the public. On November 3, 2025 Glenn Gustafson, School Finance Program Manager, Colorado Department of Education, emailed the District saying, “I think you’re starting to see that most districts feel that if you want to be in the K-12 business, and you get nearly 100% of the PPR, (per pupil revenue) then you have to pay all the same costs as a district would…” Adding …”I do think WPSD was overly generous with MA (Merit Academy) and now the pendulum is swinging back to the middle..”

On November 10, 2025 representatives of the District and Merit met with Mr. Gustafson and this information was shared. But at the Merit Academy December board meeting Dr. Pekron did not mention this during a discussion on the true up. Didn’t Mary Sekowski know about the November meeting as Treasurer? Doesn’t she know that Merit is not paying the usual charter school fees? And if not, why not?

With Sekowski’s blind commitment to MA, STR lawsuits with the City and ties to development projects she is a poor candidate for City Council.

Gail Gerig, Woodland Park