6 minute read
OPPORTUNITY
By Ken Singer Redstone Review
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LYONS – Eagle Canyon homeowners are in a dispute over the placement of a small cell tower “node” near the entrance of the development. The dispute is with three entities: the Town of Lyons; the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT); and the largest installer of cell towers in the US, Crown Castle, a $100 billion company with 5,000 employees.
Lyons, according to town administrator Victoria Simonsen, is not in a position to make changes to the project, which is to install fiber optic cable and 5-G cell towers and nodes (amplification units) between Lyons and Estes Park. CDOT owns a buffer between the highways and properties along the way.
Linda McKinney-Pecone, president of the Eagle Canyon HOA, is objecting to the location of a node along CDOT’s right-of-way, stating that there are health and environmental reasons that it should not be sited near houses in the development. She reported that the HOA had the support from the majority of the residents of Eagle Canyon to possibly hire a lawyer to block the node from being activated.
However, Simonsen said, “The town pushed for local land use approval which was vehemently opposed to by both CDOT and Crown Castle.” As the node was going to be situated at the entrance to Eagle Canyon, Simonsen, town attorney Brandon Dittman, Utilities and Engineering Director Aaron Caplan and Interim Planner Philip Strom looked at the location for the node and were told that due to the allowable distance from the last node, CDOT and Crown Castle would have a 200-ft. window to place the node for the project. The node was moved from near the stop sign at the entrance to about 25 yards south.
In an email, Glenn Kikel, a resident of Eagle Canyon, stated, “We and other neighbors may choose to move if the radiation from the tower makes it unwise to walk in the neighborhood. The enhanced AT&T tower on the nearby mountain raised radiation levels significantly, but studies have shown that it is unwise to live within 1,400 ft. of a cell tower (independent studies indicated).”
However a review of 107 studies published in 2021 by the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology found that “The review of experimental
studies provided no confirmed evidence that low-level MMWs (millimeter waves) are associated with biological effects relevant to human health.” As the project is running from east of Lyons, with the orange fiber-optic cable being dug in the CDOT right-of-way on Ute Highway in town and continuing onto U.S. Hwy. 36 west, the HOA has almost no chance of stopping the work. Singer Health concerns are not allowed under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations as a means of stopping a project and McKinney-Pecone acknowledges that fact but is still considering a suit to halt the node by the entrance. She mentioned the possibility of contacting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the nearby nests of protected species such as eagles. Kikel contacted the state office of Karen McCormick (Representative of the 11th District), and her office indicated that the HOA could get the town to permit the project, which Simonsen stated was inaccurate. She noted that the town was not allowed to challenge the project and the best the town could do is ask Crown Castle and CDOT to relocate the node. Later Charlotte Kikel said that they are moving due
Eagle Canyon homeowners are objecting to a cell tower node placed near their homes for health and environmental reasons.
Continue Tower on Page 13
Museum is still open and kids can still explore the history of Lyons
By Monique Sawyer-Lang Redstone Review
LYONS – Summer is coming to a close and children are back in school, but there is still time for you to visit the Lyons Redstone Museum before it closes for the season. The museum is open daily, Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., through October 3. Admission is free and donations are greatly appreciated.
This is a perfect time to bring the family and explore Lyons history. Grab a copy of the Forty Years/Forty Artifacts guide and challenge yourself or your children to locate all 40 items displayed throughout the museum. Learn about the town namesake Edward S. Lyon and how the arrival of the railroad in 1885 shaped the future of the Lyons community.
View the bank teller cage from one of the first banks to operate in Lyons, read the first edition front pages of the various newspapers that operated in Lyons beginning in 1890 up to the present in the Lyons Newspaper: A History Exhibit, or sit in one of the wooden booths from the Lyons Soda Fountain dating to the early 1900s. In the second floor picture gallery you can view the many early photographs of Lyons, the school building, and its graduates over the 96 year history that it operated as a school.
Even if you’ve visited the museum in the past there is always something new to see. The museum continually adds to its collection of objects, documents, and photographs through donations and we received three very interesting ones this summer: a 1926-1927 Lyons High school report card for Marley McFadden; a walking stick, dated 1894, belonging to R.N. Smith; and two chairs from the Lyons Community Church.
Annette McFadden Power donated the 10th grade, 1926-1927, Lyons High School report card belonging to her great-great-grandfather Marley McFadden. Marley’s grandparents, Thomas and Virginia McFadden, originally settled in Lyons in 1899. The report card shows that Marley, a good student with grades in the 80s and 90s, took classes in Latin, English II, Physiology and Hygiene, Physical Geography, and American History. Marley’s parents Charles W. and Jeanette “Nettie” (Spaulding) McFadden owned a livery stable, supplying horses and wagons for trips to Estes Park. Marley McFadden is pictured in the 1926 panoramic school picture that hangs in the second floor exhibit room.
Dolph Swift donated a walking stick belonging to his mother’s (Roberta Smith Swift) great-grandfather Rudolphus Nelson Smith. The brass top of the walking stick is engraved: R.N. Smith from Court House Friends After 9 Years of Faithful Service Jan. 8. 1894. Smith was one of the founding fathers of Black Hawk and Central City and builder of the famous Lace House in Black Hawk. The walking stick is now part of the Swift, Bohn, Smith Family display.
Also on display in the second floor hallway are two wooden chairs with upholstered seats and backs that were donated by Reverend Emily Hagen of the Lyons Community Church. From what time period these chairs date to is unknown but it is known that they have been Sawyer-Lang
in the church for at least 67 years. The Lyons Community Church, originally the Lyons Methodist Church, was dedicated on March 1, 1908.
Looking for more adventure and wanting to take advantage of the cooler fall weather? How about a cruise around
The museum received three very interesting additions to its collections this summer: a 1926-1927 Lyons High School report card for Marley McFadden; a walking stick, dated 1894, belonging to R.N. Smith; and two chairs from the Lyons Community Church. Continue Museum on Page 12
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