Author: Eileen Welsome
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Fire guts the home of Springs couple with no insurance
After paying off the mortgage on their home last fall, Carol and William Daily put off buying insurance. As a fire roared through their two-story home at 1330 Langmeyer St. in southwest Colorado Springs early Sunday, the couple realized what a horrible mistake they had made. “I’m still in shock,” said Carol Daily, 75, who…
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Utilities rejects city request for cheap water to keep parks green
Colorado Springs Utilities will not be providing free or even discounted water to keep Colorado Springs parks green this summer and that news frustrated City Council members. Officials of the city-owned Utilities said they cannot, legally, give away water for city parks, or even give the city a cut-rate deal. A year ago, officials asked…
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Election officials on the hunt for polling places
El Paso County election officials are finding it difficult to find schools that can be used as polling places for the expected Aug. 10 primary election. “This is an unusual situation,” elections manager Liz Olson said at a presentation this week before the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners. Officials from Harrison School District…
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Community center backers plead for more money
The planned closures of community centers and swimming pools will eventually affect every resident in Colorado Springs, predicted the chairman of a new organization fighting to keep four community centers open. “The doors will close on our children, our youth, the elderly and our veterans,” warned Eric Phillips, chairman of the Community Center Task…
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El Paso County plans to build shooting range
El Paso County officials are considering the creation of a shooting range on county-owned land next to Fort Carson. County commissioners began mulling the idea after the U.S. Forest Service closed the South Rampart Shooting Range following a fatal accident in July. Commissioners Dennis Hisey, Amy Lathen, Sallie Clark and Wayne Williams said Friday they’re in…
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County aims to build shooting range
El Paso County officials are considering the creation of a shooting range on county-owned land next to Fort Carson.County commissioners began mulling the idea after the U.S. Forest Service closed the South Rampart Shooting Range following a fatal accident in July.Commissioners Dennis Hisey, Amy Lathen, Sallie Clark and Wayne Williams said Friday they’re in favor…
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Lower property values will tax local governments
The value of property in El Paso County as a whole has declined by eight percent to 10 percent during the economic recession, according to preliminary data collected by the El Paso County Assessor’s Office. “Some neighborhoods have seen declines in excess of 30 percent,” County Assessor Mark Lowderman said in an interview Thursday. That…
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Commissioners delete funding for wildlife center
El Paso County commissioners voted Tuesday to remove funds in a federal block grant tentatively earmarked for a wildlife rehabilitation center in Ellicott. “This is not how public money should be used,” said Commissioner Amy Lathen, who made a motion to delete $15,000 in federal funding for the Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center from a Community…
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Some Pueblo, Springs officials not happy about gravel pit vote
A gravel pit that will be located along Fountain Creek has Pueblo officials worried. “It was a very regrettable decision,” Pueblo County Commissioner Jeff Chostner said of the decision last week by the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners to allow Lafarge, a multinational company, to remove 30 million tons of gravel and sand…
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Lafarge wins approval to build gravel pit near Fountain Creek
A pristine stretch of land along Fountain Creek that is home to blue herons and bald eagles will one day become a gravel pit. Overturning decisions by two other government entities, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved an application by Lafarge, a multinational firm headquartered in France, to extract 30…