Wednesday
Vol. 4, No. 28 January 19, 2011
INSIDE ➤ Winter Park has plan to fix fire pit, p. 3 ➤ Slash-burning begins in earnest, p. 4 ➤ Real estate transactions, p. 9
skyhidailynews.com
COMMENTARY: “ This is not to say that while such a Texas law exists and while Mr. DeLay has broken that law that he should go unpunished.” Columns, page 6
Fraser, GL schools on chopping block Panel suggests closing elementary buildings rather than cutting education programs BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
State education cuts and dwindling federal bailout money funneled through the state is forcing the East Grand School District to consider drastic measures to preserve its reserve and balance its
Fraser boarder missing on Berthoud
Stay tuned The East Grand Board of Education was scheduled to hear the District Accountability Committee recommendation Tuesday night, after the deadline for this publication. Check for updates online at skyhidailynews.com on Wednesday or Friday’s Sky-Hi News for new developments.
budget for the 2011-2012 school year and beyond. The closures of both Fraser Elementary and Grand Lake Elementary schools may be a top consideration. Doing so could save the dis-
trict an estimated $1.03 million. This possibility is included in a leading recommendation on ways to make $1.16 million in cuts to the East Grand School District’s budget. Out of seven possible scenarios on ways to make cuts with the least impact on student education, members of a District Accountability Committee have ranked first a scenario of consolidating the schools to Granby — with preschool through third grade at the Granby Elementary school, grades fourth through
seventh at the East Grand Middle School, and eighth through 12th at the Middle Park High School. The District Accountability outline containing the recommendations is planned to be presented to school board members a the Jan. 18 East Grand School Board meeting. It will be the first time the Budget and Programs Committee of the District Accountability Committee will present its recommendations to the East Grand School Board. The outline also states the
closure scenario would preserve all special programs and electives for all grades in all schools; whereas other scenarios show cuts to programs such as languages, arts, music, P.E., technology courses and other programs and electives. The option would also provide for a step in staff pay, ending a three-year salary freeze, and would preserve the district’s reserve. Committee members also recommend adding $100,000 back to the Activities/Athletics See Schools, page 2
WINTER PARK HOSTS MPHS HOME SKI MEET
Storm closes highway for most of two days BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
WINTER PARK — As many as 41 rescuers were looking Tuesday afternoon for snowboarder Jeff Miller, 26, of Fraser, last seen on the west side of Berthoud Pass on Monday, Jan. 17. The extensive search was expected to be suspended at dark and resume on Wednesday, said Grand County Sheriff Rod Johnson just before press time on Tuesday. Miller was snowboarding on the pass with friend Nick James, 29, and Miller’s German shepherd Beau. James last saw the dog and Miller behind him above a small slide James had triggered, according to Johnson. James then finished his run through the drainage to the bottom. When Miller did not show up, James hitched rides and did two more passes looking for him, Johnson said. After the second pass, James called for help. As many as 15 members of Grand County Search and Rescue initially responded to See Boarder, page 2
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Middle Park’s Natasha Stenicka negotiates the course during the first run of slalom during a high school race on Friday at Winter Park Resort. Stenicka went on to place third in the event. ➤ Find results from the race and other high school contests on page 8.
Good Neighbors
Good Neighb
Juniper Library and Gail Van Bockern Jeanne Kafer of Grand Lake would like to thank the Juniper Library and Gail Van Bockern for an outstanding presentation on Family Health for Mature Adults. She writes, “The setting of the library is always warm and
welcoming due to the outstanding Library staff at Juniper. Mrs. Van Bockern's presentation was informative and gave many suggestions
Good Neighbors
as to have a healthier and more productive life as one ages. We are lucky to have the opportunities to enjoy so many fine programs for free at our libraries.” Good Neighb
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SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011
BOARDER: Wind speed clocked at 90 mph www.skyhidailynews.com 970.887.3334 fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100 msandberg@skyhidailynews.com
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
Continued from page 1
the emergency call, which came in at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. The search was called off at about 10 p.m. Monday night due to hazardous conditions of high winds, blowing snow and avalanche danger, according to Search and Rescue spokesperson Greg Foley. Search and Rescue positioned a mobile incident command vehicle at the trailhead through the night, then continued its search early Tuesday morning, he said. The search has concentrated in an area above Seven Mile Run, near the second switchback from the top of Berthoud on the Grand County side. Backcountry skiers might refer to the area as below “the fingers.” Search teams utilized a search and rescue dog team as well as a Recco device, which assists rescue teams in locating possible burials. Meanwhile, other team members continued
a ground search, hoping the snowboarder built a snow cave to survive the night. New snowfall and high winds quickly covered tracks in the area, hampering search efforts. Berthoud closed through the day Avalanche control operations were held up on the west side of Berthoud Pass as rescuers searched, according to CDOT spokesperson Bob Wilson. “If there is even the possibility of someone missing at the slope, we do not do any control,” he said at noon on Tuesday. Although weather conditions were improving, the pass was closed for the rest of the day, but CDOT operators did not expect another overnight closure. “We do expect (the closure) to continue through the majority of the day,” Wilson said. “Until we can account for the individual, we’re not going to do anything at this point.”
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
A portable message board in Winter Park informed travelers that Berthoud Pass was still closed on Tuesday. Eastbound traffic wa rerouted through Silverthorne and Interstate-70.
Berthoud was closed shortly after 11 a.m. on Monday due to wind speeds clocked at up to 90 miles per hour, creating poor visibility, heavy snowfall and high avalanche potential in the area.
Avalanche control started on the east side of Berthoud Pass at the Stanley avalanche slide path on Tuesday morning. As much as 20 feet of snow toppled onto the roadway from the work, Wilson said.
SCHOOLS: Staff positions may have to be cut too Continued from page 1
budget to help preserve more of those programs. Even with the consolidation scenario, the district may feel a loss of up to seven teachers and 10 support staff members, loss of 2.5 administrative positions and elimination of three district level director positions, according to the committee’s outline. The District Accountability Committee has been analyzing ways to cut the 20112012 budget since September. “If we don’t close the schools, the entire (discretionary) budget would be cut,” said Karen Waeschle of the DAC’s Budget and Programs Committee. The committee is made up of staff members, parents and community members from Grand Lake to Winter Park. The committee was unanimous in ranking the consolidation option as the committee’s top recommendation. “Everyone knows this is dramatic,” Waeschle said, adding that the committee has studied all options thoroughly and did not arrive at its findings “out of thin air.” “Yes, this is drastic,” she said. “But if you see the budget — I don’t know what else you can do.” On Oct. 22, the district was forced to forego $365,000 to a state rescission, which was backfilled by Education Job Funds money and ARRA funds. But even with that backfill, the district experienced a shortfall of $60,000. In preparation, the district had cut $1 million from the 2010-11 budget in order to preserve its reserves. Those cuts “scratched the surface,” according to East Grand School District
Top suggestions
• Reinstating student book/technology fees Leading recommendations, according • Increasing sports/ activities fees to the Budget Subcommittee of the East Grand School District Accountability Other suggestions Committee 2. Close East Grand Middle School, 1. Temporarily close Fraser Valley Elementary and Grand Lake Elementary resulting in: Grand Lake Elementary, and restructuring to: Granby Elementary Fraser Valley Elementary and Granby — preschool through third grade; East Elementary — preschool through 6th grades; Middle Park High School — 7th Grand Middle School — fourth grade through 12th grades. $746,419 savthrough seventh grade; Middle Park ings. High School — eighth grade through 3. Close East Grand Middle School 12th grade • Pros: Maintains class sizes 20-23 and Grand Lake Elementary resulting students, full specials and electives for in: Granby Elementary and Fraser Valley K-12, scheduled daily teacher planning Elementary — preschool through 6th grades; Middle Park High School — time and collaborative planning time, 7th-12th grades. $1.03 million savings staff benefit package, a solid district 4. Close Grand Lake Elementary: reserve. • Cons: $150,000 reduction to athlet- $300,000 savings 5. No closure, reduce programs: ic and activities funding, loss of 7 staff, $524,311 savings loss of 10 support staff, loss of 2.5 6. No closure, eliminate programs: administration positions, elimination of $866,897 savings 3 district level director positions. 7. The committee also examined and Closing the two schools results in a dismissed: Cutting 20 percent of all $1,036,818 savings, but the committee salaries; removing 20 teachers; spendrecommends that the board: ing down reserves; refinancing debt; • Add English Language Learners fundraising and grant writing. specialists ($131,395) — Source, memo to the East Grand • Add $100,000 back to the Activities School Board entitled “DAC Budget and Athletics budget ($100,000) Subcommittee Recommendations,” • Add a step increase for teachers from the DAC Budget and Programs ($137,296) Committee. Read the complete DAC These additions ($368,691) reduce the savings to $668,127, so more sav- recommendation accompanying the ings will need to be found. Some ideas: online version of this story at www. • Consolidation of secondary classes skyhidailynews.com. Superintendent Nancy Karas, but to cut another $1.15 million will take much deeper measures, she said. The school district built its budget on a calculation of $6,805 per student funding level of the School Finance Act, but with the October rescission, that number is now closer to $6,461 per student. Karas said district officials are being told to prepare for another possible state rescis-
sion that could drop student funding by another 6 percent. On top of all this, enrollment is down across the district with about 108 students gone from last year. Consolidating schools — if the board chooses that direction — would mean both Grand Lake and Fraser Elementary school buildings would become “mothballed,” or “maintained at a condition (in which) we could turn
them on, open the doors and start school if we were to have an influx of students,” Karas said. In the meantime, the Granby Elementary School and the East Grand Middle School would be operating at capacity. A full electives schedule would remain at the high school, and foreign language classes would still be available at the middle school. The consolidation scenario reflects the least amount of teacher lay-offs. “We approached the whole thing with how to improve the quality of education in Grand County, not just to make cuts to save money,” Waeschle said. Waeschle has three children who attend district schools. The plan was tailored to comply with the district’s five-year improvement plan that seeks to raise test scores and hold teachers accountable. Consolidating would allow the district to hire more English Language Learners specialists to help in that direction. “It’s the only plan that does that and saves as many jobs as possible. Yes, it’s an emotional loss. But we’re not the only district in Colorado that’s having to consolidate,” Waeshcle said. According to the committee’s findings, she said, in comparison with other districts, the East Grand School District is paying far too much on facilities in ratio to its number of students. “We’re paying more on facilities, less on education,” she said. Waeschle stressed the district’s financial hardships stem from “a state problem, not a district one.”
Weekend
Vol. 4, No. 29 January 21, 2011
skyhidailynews.com PETS FOR ADOPTION
COMMENTARY: “We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to all the locals who worked so tirelessly alongside us to bring closure to our entire community. ”
page 16
Letters, page 6
‘Give us more time’ Citizens sound off about proposal to close elementary schools BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
The dominant message delivered in the packed meeting room of the East Grand School District on Tuesday night was “save our community schools.” “Schools are the hubs of their communities and have an importance that goes beyond education,” said Scott Ledin, of Fraser, addressing the East Grand School Board with statements he’d prepared. “They play a major role in the economic development of their communities, and they make communities more attractive to newcomers. Businesses are more likely to move to communities with schools. And families will not move to communities without schools.” The sentiments of Fraser Valley Elementary School supporters echoed those of Grand Lake citizens just one year ago, when the possibility of closure of the Grand Lake Elementary School due to low enrollment filled that school’s
Next board meetings • Workshop, 6 p.m. Jan. 25, East Grand administration building • 6 p.m., Feb. 1, at the Middle Park High School
gymnasium with worried parents, teachers, town officials and citizens. As it turned out, the district adopted a 2010-11 budget that made $1 million in cuts and threw a lifeline to the school, changing its schedule to five days per week to make it more competitive. The school survived for another year. Now, with the possibility of closing the Fraser school, Fraser Valley Elementary school parents and townspeople have become highly engaged in the district’s multiyear budget crisis. The Fraser Elementary School is joining the Grand Lake school on a list of the most feasible ways to cut another $1.1 million in 201112 expenditures in the East Grand School District. A leading recommendation suggests those schools consolidate in
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Ron Jones, standing center, comments on the recommendations of the District Accountability Committee to a packed meeting room during the East Grand Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night in Granby.
Granby. That would save the district building utilities and maintenance costs, according to a list supplied to school board members and unanimously approved by a 10-
member East Grand School District Accountability budget subcommittee made up of three individuals from the Fraser Valley and seven from the Grand Lake area.
Friends fondly recall beloved boarder BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
WINTER PARK — As the intensive search for missing snowboarder Jeff Miller approached its third day, volunteer Bret Statezny, standing in a line of searchers, took a few steps and found the popular 26-year-old Fraser man. “On my third step, I probed and found him,” said Statezny, who did not know Miller, during a gathering of mourners at Ullrs Tavern in Winter Park on Wednesday. “I walked away and let his friends dig him out.” The search ended Wednesday at 10:20 a.m. in the area where Miller was last seen below the “fingers” of Berthoud Pass at the bottom of avalanche debris . After covering 7.5 miles on Tuesday, more friends and rescuers resumed the search Wednesday morning. Among those who helped dig out Miller’s body were his longest-standing best friends from his home state of Oklahoma, according to close friend Katie Looby, former Winter Park resident and former Sky-Hi News reporter who now lives in Denver. “We all want him back,” Looby said. “I’ve never See Boarder, page 3
Granby Elementary would house grades preschool through third grade; East Grand Middle School would have grades fourth through See Schools, page 2
Fraser Valley hosts Snowfest this weekend BY REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS FILE PHOTO
Jeff Miller with his dog, Beau, pose at his Fraser home for a 2008 Sky-Hi News story.
This weekend, the Fraser Valley will celebrate “SnowFest,” the newest name for its annual winter bash. Events include free bump tips up at the ski resort, snow sculpture contests, free ice skating, live music, interpretive snowshoe hikes, free yoga classes, campfires and s’mores, dog agility demos, dog sled races, skijoring, parades and a snow trek with the chamber mascot ZB. The weekend kicks off with the NSCD 41st Annual Ski Down Parade at 11 a.m. Friday at Winter Park Resort. That evening, the 27th Annual Chef’s Cup Dinner Dance at West Portal Station will offer a “Taste of Grand County.” A big highlight of the weekend has long been the parade down Main Street in Winter Park Saturday night, with fireworks and cupcakes to follow. (The cupcakes are a holdover tradition from when the event used to be called Mary Jane’s Birthday Bash. The resort will also hand out cake on Saturday at the Club Car to celebrate one of local history’s most infamous ladies.) See Snowfest, page 4
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SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011
SCHOOLS: Townspeople say schools add vitality www.skyhidailynews.com 970.887.3334 fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100 msandberg@skyhidailynews.com
General manager / editor Drew Munro x19600
Continued from page 1
seventh; and Middle Park High School would have grades eighth through 12th. The East Grand Board of Education is reserving any decision on the matter, pending more analysis of the options and more community meetings.
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Display Advertising Maggie Butler, director . . . x13701 mbutler@skyhidailynews.com
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Classified Advertising Stephanie Richardson . . . x19119 srichardson@skyhidailynews.com
CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
Important numbers Grand County Dispatch (970) 725-3549 Snow Report (970) 726-SNOW Grand County government: 725-3347 Winter Park Town Hall (970) 726-8081 Fraser Town Hall (970) 726-5491 Granby Town Hall (970) 887-2501 Grand Lake Town Hall (970) 627-3435 Kremmling Town Hall (970) 724-3249 Hot Sulphur Springs Town Hall (970) 725-3933
Correction The Shirley Acord memorial service will take place Jan. 21.
“It’s either protect the emotion that is attached to bricks and sticks or protect the student-teacher relationship in classroom.” Jimmy Lahrman, Fraser Valley parent and DAC budget subcommittee member
Fraser Elementary supporters, Grand Lake Elementary supporters, members of the budget subcommittee, and supporters of consolidation tempered emotions during the first meeting on the recommendation in the school district meeting room on Tuesday, Jan 18. “I appreciate the recommendation the committee has put in. I think it is a very flawed recommendation,” said businessman Ron Jones, of Tabernash, and parent of children who once attended Fraser Valley. “Because what the committee has failed to look at ... is the impact of not having a community school for children 5 years old to 10 years old... Would I be here if my kids would have had to ride a bus to Granby every day? Absolutely not.” Jones advocated the district dip into some of its $2.2 million reserves to ride out the remainder of budget deliberation and allow the Fraser Valley and Grand Lake communities to “see if we can raise more money.” As much as $400,000 of those reserves are restricted by Colorado’s TABOR amendment, and by law can only be spent by “An Act of God.” “Give us time for the community to respond and pull together a solution that does not include closing these schools,” Jones said. “I will tell you this. To close our schools in our communities is really devastating,” said Winter Park Resort President Gary DeFrange. “The unintended consequences could be huge.” DeFrange and others outlined how closing a neighborhood school could motivate
“I have real serious concerns taking seventh and eighth graders and blending them with high school students.” Kelly Weimer, parent and director of Grand County Juvenile Services
families to move, affecting property values due to empty homes, in turn causing a “selffulfilling prophecy” to the school district’s declining property-tax income. Closing the school, they said, could affect the vitality of many aspects of the community, such as businesses, employee retention at the resort, recreation district center programming, real estate — and the list continued. Later in the district meeting, District Athletic Director Brendan Thurston said the “flip side” to the argument of declining property values and the loss of business due to an empty school is an occupied school that doesn’t offer a wellrounded education, with crowded classrooms and the absence of PE, art and music. “If I’m a parent, and I see a school that’s only there to offer the basics of reading, math and science, I’m going to look at moving my kids to a school where they can get those other opportunities,” Thurston said.
“Grand Lake Elementary is the only school building in this (district) that’s paid for. We as a community, made the effort that we will put on the next ballot an increased sales tax to help support our schools.” -Judy Burke, mayor of Grand Lake
DeFrange asked the board to “give us some time as a community to try and figure this thing out ... I will commit to you personal time, and I will commit to you resources from the resort, to try and help to come up with those solutions.” “We’re going to have to pay higher taxes,” said David Michel, a Tabernash parent who said that he would not want to put his Kindergartner on a bus to travel to Granby. “I’ve lived in other places in this country, and we pay very low property taxes.” “That’s why we live here,” chirped someone from the back.
Where was the support? In defense of the accountability committee’s consolidation recommendation, three-year committee member and parent Jim Lahrman of Winter Park reminded the crowd how major cuts to athletics, activities and high school electives were on the horizon when the 2011 committee gathered this fall to cut $1.1 million from the budget. Rather than see those cuts happen, the committee sought a way to not only preserve athletics, activities and electives, but to enhance education with added English Language Learner support and to limit teacher lay-offs. Absent any sustainable funding that would support schools for upcoming years, consolidating schools would do that,
Budget constraints
PHOTOS BY BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
“Give us time as a community to try and figure this thing out, recognizing as we do now, the devastating affect this is going to have on every one of us.” Gary DeFrange, Winter Park Resort President and CEO
Lahrman said. He pointed out that last year he, along with county commissioners and a contingency from Grand Lake, approached community leaders from throughout the county to gauge whether a sales-tax model similar to Routt County’s would be possible in Grand. In such a model, a foundation would be created to help funnel to the schools $2 million per year generated from a 1 percent sales-tax increase, which would require a vote of the people. But the idea fizzled, according to Lahrman, due to a lack of support. “All we were told was ‘our business community can’t afford more taxes,’” Lahrman said. “‘We can’t afford another 1 percent up at the ski area.’... Maybe that should have been there with the onus that, ‘hey, our facilities are hanging in the balance.’ That may have been the shortfall of the DAC last year, that we didn’t put on the table what the cuts would be this year.” At the time, deep cuts anticipated for the 2011-12 district budget were focused on more faculty, support staff and administrator lay-offs and eliminating most athletics, extracurricular activities and electives in every school. “Cuts have impacted the quality of education. I think it’s important to understand, that if we continue down that road, there definitely will be negative impacts to programming. If we cut electives — gym, language, technology, art, music — there won’t be a well-rounded education in this district,” Lahrman said. “So, it’s either protect the emotion that is attached to brick and sticks,” he continued, “or, protect the student-teacher relationship that’s in the classroom. I think as a committee we chose to protect the student-teacher relationship.” But one Fraser parent, C.A. Lane, responded, education “starts with bricks and mortar instead of a bus ride,” he said. “I represent Hot Sulphur,” said East Grand School District Board Member Mike Thompson, during the earlier segment of the meeting. “They closed our school in 1960. We still have a great town and great citizens.” Thompson said his son rode the bus starting in Kindergarten from Hot Sulphur
• State rescissions the last three years • Enrollment deficit of 108 students in last 1.5 years. Loss of about $750 per student. • One of largest student bodies in East Grand history, 2008-09 district enrollment of 1,349 students, is no longer considered in the 4-year average for state funding at a cost to the district of $160,000. 2011 adds a small enrollment of 1,247 students. • With enrollment, pending state rescissions, and the loss of averaging dollars, the district anticipates a funding decrease of $600,000. • Assessed values are decreasing, with the anticipation of a 22 percent decline in Grand County. That means more than $1.8 million will fall back to the state in the school finance funding formula. • The district anticipates losing about 30 more students next year, with a $200,000 line item. Additional costs: • Increases in Pera retirement plan, $60,000 • Increase in health insurance costs of $144,000 • Utilities and maintenance agreements increases to the tune of $15,000 • Education step awarded to staff for continued education, $60,000
Springs to Granby, and he is now a successful college student in Wyoming.
Other options? At least one parent questioned the accountability committee’s approach to the budget. Why not consider cutting salaries? asked Rick Whitford, of Fraser. “In a depression in this county, to say we need to give a step increase does not sit well with me at all,” he said. The accountability committee’s report suggests a salary step increase totaling $137,296. According to the accountability budget committee, if they were to propose a 20 percent cut to salaries across the board, they would meet the budget shortfall. Yet many believe that would be cutting at the frontline of education.
“As a business owner, it will kill Grand Lake not to have a school.” Kathy Weydert,Grand Lake business owner and school district employee
“These are the people teaching your children,” one person said. After most of the crowd had filed out of the meeting, East Grand School Board directed staff to review the recommendations and factor in transportation and other aspects that could influence a decision. They also directed staff and administrators to try and come up with another option not on the accountability committee list, perhaps one that combines aspects of DAC recommendations, or one that includes the possibility of a ballot question in November.
Vol. 4, No. 30 January 26, 2011
Wednesday
COMING FRIDAY It’s fishing tourney time skyhidailynews.com
COMMENTARY: “I have been reading and hearing about the need to cover a million dollar gap in East Grand County's school budget. ” Letters, page 8
E.G. school panel eyes reserves to buy time Money could delay cuts pending outcome of possible tax election BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
PHOTOS BY BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Wes Selby practices at Winding River Ranch outside of Grand Lake on Monday for the upcoming X Games in Aspen.
Grand Laker gears up for XGames BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
es Selby isn’t afraid of W speed, or big heights — as long as he’s in control.
Tune in Look for snowmo-
Rounding corners and flying bile snocross finals 50 feet in the air on a snowmoon ESPN and ESPN bile is second nature to the 253D, airing 12:30 year-old Grand County athlete. p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30 But standing on 20-foot-high (subject to change, scaffolding, or riding in the pascheck listings). The senger side of a moving car, the XGames take place fear sets in. Jan. 27-30. “It’s weird. I don’t understand it either,” he said. But Selby is right at home hitting full throttle as a contender on the national circuit of snocross racing, and as a competitor at this year’s Winter X Games 15 in Aspen, Jan. 27-30. Par for the snocross courses are jumps built high enough for riders to be airborne for up to 120 feet, sharp corners, and other racers brokering for the lead. See X Games, page 2
See Schools, page 2
Good Neighbors
Those who serve free meals
Wes Selby
Fraser officials begin considering marijuana regs REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
FRASER — The Board of Trustees here has outlined a schedule for adopting new regulations that will guide the development of medical marijuana facilities inside town limits. Voters decided last November that the town should not prohibit such operations within the town limits. Town attorney Rod McGowan clarified that, despite
At a recent school district meeting concerning the budget directive to cut $1.1 million, “time” is what community members asked from the district Meeting change board to come up • The administrative recwith a sustainable ommendation on the 2011funding solution for 12 budget will be presented schools. to board members at the The latest revision board’s 6 p.m., Wednesday, of the East Grand Jan. 26, workshop at the School District budget district meeting room. (Note: recommendation That meeting was reschedreflects that sentiuled from Jan. 25) ment, taking into • It will also be discussed account a possible at the East Grand Board of ballot question come Education Community November. Meeting at 6 p.m. on Such a question Tuesday, Feb. 1, at the could be in the form Middle Park High School of a mill levy override auditorium. Both meetings are open to or a town/county sales tax increase, all the public. “which can be used to offset the ongoing district budget shortfall,” states the latest administrative recommendation on how to approach the 2011-12 district budget. On Jan. 18, the East Grand Board of Education gave administrators a directive to analyze the District Accountability budget subcommittee’s list of recommendations — the
the vote, the board still has the option to prohibit any or all of the various facilities allowed by the state: medical marijuana centers, grow operations or infused product manufacturers. The town board has until July 1, 2011, when the state’s moratorium runs out, to adopt its new regulations. With that deadline looming, Town Manager Jeff Durbin gave the trustees “homework” after the Jan. 19 meeting. The board
has been asked to review a list of seven questions about establishing a local licensing authority. The state has given local governments the ability to decide who should serve as the local licensing authority. That authority could be the Board of Trustees, the town clerk, a specially appointed hearing officer or even the municipal judge, Durbin said. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, he explained. See Marijuana, page 2
Erin Biggs of Fraser nominated Joan Vanderheiden, Jim Magill, and Beth Collins for the Good Neighbor award, as well as everyone else who also helps them every other week at the free community dinners at Cramner Memorial Chapel in downtown Winter Park. She writes, “These free dinners every two weeks mean so much to me and all of my coworkers and friends. Joan, Jim, and Beth, as well as everyone else who helps them, take such good care of us. The meals are great, and they go out of their way to make sure we're comfortable and happy and doing well, not even letting us lift a finger to get our own food or drinks. It's so refreshing and wonderful, and I look forward to it every time. They definitely deserve the Good Neighbor Award. Thanks to you all.”
Good Neighbors
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SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011
MARIJUANA: Continued from page 1
www.skyhidailynews.com 970.887.3334 fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100
Snowfest flotilla
msandberg@skyhidailynews.com
General manager / editor Drew Munro x19600
The Grand County Fishing Company float makes its way down Main Street during the Winter Park Snowfest Parade on Saturday evening.
dmunro@skyhidailynews.com
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
Important numbers Grand County Dispatch (970) 725-3549 Snow Report (970) 726-SNOW Grand County government: 725-3347 Winter Park Town Hall (970) 726-8081 Fraser Town Hall (970) 726-5491 Granby Town Hall (970) 887-2501 Grand Lake Town Hall (970) 627-3435 Kremmling Town Hall (970) 724-3249 Hot Sulphur Springs Town Hall (970) 725-3933
XGAMES: ‘I like it because I’m good at it’ Continued from page 1
It’s the motocross or boardercross of the snowmobile world. And Selby, a 2003 graduate of Middle Park High School, is determined to take it by storm. Selby is the only snowmobile racer from Grand County and the state of Colorado in this year’s Winter X. Having joined the pro class just last season, Selby is already rated in the top 10 for points on the national circuit. His invitation to the X Games is an opportunity to win a championship in what he considers the “Olympics of snowmobiling.” “If I don’t make the main event, I’ll be pretty disappointed,” said the racer, the son of Terry Selby and Sherri Goff, both of Granby. “I’ve set my sights on the top 5, for sure,” he said.
Training in Grand Lake Originally of Granby and now calling Grand Lake home, Selby has been practicing laps in the Winding River Ranch area near Grand Lake since his return from Minnesota in late December. He was scheduled to travel to Aspen on Tuesday, with X Games snowmobile races set for Jan. 30. His training grounds on the Jolstad property — Jolstad Motor Sports being his title sponsor — and the Busse Family Ranch are where he
and five-time X Games gold medalist Tucker Hibbert of Thief River Falls, Minn., have been spending long hours practicing and testing their machines for altitude. Each owns a giant groomer to build tracks and jumps on what otherwise is summer pastureland. They rise to groom trails early every day, then ride until dark, Selby said, followed by hours in the shop tinkering with snowmobiles and groomers. Since 2006, Selby has been spending winters in Minnesota, staying with the Hibbert family when not traveling to competitions, and he spends summers between Grand Lake and Denver, where he strength trains, he said. A former motocross competitor, Selby says racing has afforded him the opportunity to see nearly every state and parts of Canada, and he often stays in his moving rig that features both living quarters and room for his snowmobiles or motorcycles. Snocross racing is a mix of strategy — with good starts making all the difference — and stamina, with a race lasting 15 to 20 minutes and consisting of about 10 single, double and triple jumps in 30- to 45-second laps. Semi-final and final races are made up of about 15 competitors. “You can win a race by a fraction of a second, or you can win it by a mile,” Selby said.
He maintains a healthy respect for his fellow racers. Of any of the finalists, “If they have a good day and everything is going right, any of them could win it,” he said. To win, “Everything has to go right with a little bit of luck on your side.” His buddy Tucker, who is seeking to win his fifth consecutive gold at this year’s X Games, “is the man to beat right now,” Selby said.
Piloting his future With sponsor Arctic Cat, Selby will be racing a 430pound, 165-horsepower modified Arctic Cat machine at this year’s X Games, likening it to riding a crotch-rocket motorcycle. That his family and friends can be at the X Games to cheer him on is a bonus to the Grand Lake racer. And heavy snows this season should make for a great event, he said. “Obviously, I like it because I’m good at it,” Selby said of racing. Aside from the competition, he’s in it for the camaraderie. To him, the snowmobile community is “one big family,” he said. And what does he dream of doing once he’s through mastering the sport, despite his fear of heights? “I want to be a commercial airline pilot,” he said, “that’s my goal.”
SCHOOLS: Middle school closure not backed Continued from page 1
leading one of which suggested closing the Fraser Valley Elementary School and Grand Lake Elementary School — and come up with one of their own. This new recommendation will be presented to the district board in upcoming meetings. The newly released Administrative 2011-2012 Budget Recommendation allows for the district to dip into the district’s reserves by 28 percent, or $500,000, “to provide time for our community to obtain other adequate,
timely, guaranteed, sustainable funding sources such as a mill levy override and/or town or county sales taxes, all which can be used to offset the district budget shortfall,” states a rough draft of the recommendation. The second part of the draft recommendation states that if the “community demonstrates an inability to support” such a solution, the Fraser Valley Elementary School and Grand Lake Elementary School should “be closed, and students relocated, per the DAC recommendation present to the Board of Education on
Jan. 18,2011. If school closures become necessary, it is recommended that the relocation take place prior to and over the 2011-12 winter break.” The administrative recommendation goes on to say that the closure of the East Grand Middle School “would not be a recommendation made by the administration due to the impact on student programming and loss of educational opportunities as compared to the closure of (Fraser Valley Elementary) and (Grand Lake Elementary) if needed.”
Having an administrative person handle applications takes the politics out of the process but places the onus of the decision on one staff member. Putting the decision in the hands of a judge gives the responsibility to somebody who is legally minded, but could complicate matters if the applicant later violates any of the town's regulations. The board must also decide whether new medical marijuana licenses should be issued through a public hearing process or an administrative review process. Both systems would include a right to request a public hearing or appeal to a higher authority. The process for notifying neighbors of pending applications will also be a key component of the regulations.
Dancing with the state The work ahead has been simplified to a large extent by a 100-page draft document released by the state licensing authority a few weeks ago, outlining rules and regulations for allowing medical marijuana centers, Durbin said: “Now we don't have to write those 100 pages and that is a good thing." A rule-making hearing Jan. 27 will determine whether the state adopts those 100 pages of regulation. If adopted, which seems likely Durbin said, “It will provide us good ground to work on.” Michael Byrd, a Fraser Valley resident who works with several dispensaries on the Front Range, told the board last week that the world of medical marijuana is "still the Wild West." There are no rules against pesticides and no best practices from the state’s perspective, he said. The state's proposed regulations would fix that, providing detail on everything from sanitizing requirements when working with infused products to a list of chemicals and fertilizers that are prohibited in grow operations. Durbin added that the proposed requirements for licensing medical marijuana facilities are more straightforward than the "needs and desires" outlined in the state's liquor license process: "Either they qualify per the state's requirements or they don't," he said. The local government's approval of an application would only "give people the right to dance with the state," he said. Ultimate approval would come from the state's licensing authority. The board of trustees will meet again at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2. The goal, Durbin said, is for the board to give staff some direction in February. Staff will then draft language for the planning commission to consider at its March 23 meeting. The planning commission will aim to return its recommendation to the board in April, and the board will likely consider adoption of new medical marijuana regulations sometime in May or June, Durbin said.
Vol. 4, No. 35 February 11, 2011
Weekend
skyhidailynews.com
COMMENTARY: “The outpouring of love and support that we have received from our community has been nothing less than life-saving.” Letters, page 6
RACE TO YOUR MOUSE See Byron Hetzler’s best shots of the week at skyhidailynews.com
Grand communities rally for schools Officials, citizens search for ways to boost county-wide funding BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
Fraser Valley Elementary and Grand Lake Elementary schools won’t close if a community effort to improve education county-wide succeeds. During a multi-town, county and organization meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at Granby Town Hall, town leaders gathered in the name of education. With the lack of state funding a potential threat to the future stability of both the East Grand and West Grand school districts, many leaders pledged to try and find ways to close deficit gaps for this year. Doing so would buy time for a soon-to-be-formed “adhoc” committee (proposed to be under the East Grand School District Board) to research a more permanent funding solution for all schools. A new source of revenue could improve the educational experience for all kids in both school systems, said Winter Park Resort President Gary DeFrange. Although he has “fought it
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Grand County Commissioners James Newberry, left, and Nancy Stewart speak during a meeting of local government and business leaders Wednesday at Granby Town Hall to discuss the financial situation in the East Grand School District.
for a number of years,” he said, “I think the thing to do is a sales tax increase.” A 1 percent sales tax increase, which would require a county-wide vote, remains the most plausible of all funding solutions, he said. To move on a path toward this, many segments of the
Good Neighbors
Good Neighbors
Ted Williams Janel Jordy of Winter Park would like to celebrate a Good Neighbors Grand County Good Neighbor. She writes, “It was a chilly minus 13 degree morning and as I walked to dig out my vehicle that had become stranded in some very deep snow on the side of the road I was greeted by Ted Williams, on his way to work. He told me to hop in and took me to the car. Although I'm sure he was ready to get to work, he took he time to pull my stuck vehicle out of the snow drift and he even let my dog hop in his car to come along for the ride. I had never met Ted before but was so happy to have his help. It is so wonderful to have people like him in our community.
community would be “bearing some of the burden,” according to Jim Lahrman, Winter Park town board member and third-year member of the East Grand School District Accountability Committee. The district budget subcommittee, whose top recommendation to the East Grand
Board of Education on Jan. 18 was to close two schools, met on Feb. 7 and brainstormed more ways to cut the district’s draft 2011-2012 budget. Budget subcommittee members decided “unanimously” that — with a newly engaged community willing to help local education with possible
long-term funding — they recommend to the district board the use of $500,000 of reserves, amounting to a quarter of district savings. That would leave about $1.3 million in district reserves, which would support district operations for about one month. Another $150,000 to $175,000 in cuts, said Lahrman, would be in addition to the $2 million in cuts the district has made over the past two years. With cuts and money from the reserves, the district would cover more than half the projected funding shortfall for the 2011-2012 school year. But $400,000 would still be needed from the community, Lahrman said. “Would you please help us contribute to the $400,000 shortfall?” Lahrman asked the roomful of commissioners, trustees, council members and other leaders from Hot Sulphur Springs, Granby, Grand Lake, Fraser and Winter Park. The Town of Kremmling and the West Grand School District were not represented at the meeting.
District cuts The East Grand School District Board of Education See Schools, page 2
For oldtime HSS couple, love blossomed early in town who was calling her his Widow recounts how boy girlfriend. His name was Lloyd “Barney” she met Olympic skier, McLean. Margaret made sure to attend Good Neighbors the opening of the new school in Hot Barney McLean Sulphur that spring (now the location BY REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
It was the spring of 1924 when an 8year-old girl from Hot Springs, Ark., arrived in Hot Sulphur Springs by train to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle Hattie and Omar Qualls, homesteaders from Parshall who had recently purchased the Riverside Hotel. It wasn’t the first time Margaret Wilson had been to Hot Sulphur. Her father had tuberculosis and was frequently prescribed treatment at the sanatorium on the Front Range. She was 6 years old the first time she made the train trip. She remembered a boy and girl twin she had befriended on her first visit. When she saw the twins again on this second visit, they told her there was a
of Pioneer Village Museum). When Margaret first laid eyes on her future husband, she wasn’t all that impressed. “I immediately knew who he was, and I thought, ‘Ugh.’” He was wearing wool knickers, leather boots, a V-neck sweater and a flat cap. “He had white hair and millions of freckles,” she recalls. That white-haired boy from Hot Sulphur went on to become one of Grand County’s earliest and most heralded Olympic skiers. He and Margaret would eventually travel the world together. They danced with Hollywood stars and shook hands with presidents. But their love story began right there, in a that little neighborhood schoolhouse. “We all had a crush on Barney until
COURTESY PHOTO
Barney and Margaret McLean
Margaret came to town, then it was all over,” one of Margaret's best friends used to say. At some point, she said, the banker’s son asked her out, but she found him See Love, page 2
2
SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
www.skyhidailynews.com 970.887.3334 fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100 msandberg@skyhidailynews.com
General manager / editor Drew Munro x19600 dmunro@skyhidailynews.com
Newsroom Photos: Byron Hetzler . . . x19604 bhetzler@skyhidailynews.com
Tonya Bina . . . . . . . . . . . . x19603 tbina@skyhidailynews.com
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Classified Advertising Stephanie Richardson . . . x19119 srichardson@skyhidailynews.com
CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011
SCHOOLS: The future remains uncertain Continued from page 1
has not yet voted whether to close the schools. District officials have set a timeline of March 1 for the community to present whether funding would be available. Then on Tuesday, March 29, the school district board plans to take all recommended options under consideration and make its decision. Among choices are whether to risk its reserves and undergo more cuts to keep schools open while long-term funding is explored, or temporarily close schools this spring or my midDecember 2011 when funds run dry. Even if schools are closed, the board would encourage the long-term funding conversation to continue, said East Grand Superintendent Nancy Karas. “Nobody wants to cut facilities in the East Grand School District,” Lahrman said, speaking on behalf of the district budget committee. “But our main objective is to protect the quality of education, not protect facilities.” In spite of this, the DAC budget committee agreed to review the budget with a “scalpel instead of a chainsaw” to get through the next school year, minus school closures. The committee explored cuts that would impact “parents, administration, teachers and the district” as a whole, Lahrman said.
Proposed as “one-time solutions” to the district budget for the upcoming year were: Adding back student fees for technical supplies, sports, parking and activities; housing the district administrative offices in the East Grand Middle School and closing the administration building; taking faculty step raises out of the budget equation; and cutting textbook adoptions and material supplies. Even if the community steps up with its estimated $400,000 portion — in addition to district sacrifices — Lahrman said, the future would remain uncertain. A long-term solution such as a 1 percent sales tax would require the blessing of voters. “I would urge you as leaders of the communities to educate (voters) about what’s at stake,” he said. “Or, it will be the same emotional roller coaster again and we’ll be back here next year talking about closing schools if we don’t find a permanent funding source.”
County contribution Grand County Commissioners James Newberry and Nancy Stuart announced the county’s intent to renegotiate Forest Reserve money that annually is divvied among school districts and the county’s road and bridge department. Newberry said the county would consider cutting the road and bridge budget to
help schools. By law, 25 percent of Forest Reserve funds must be distributed to schools, and 25 percent to the county. But the remaining 50 percent can be doled out at the discretion of county officials. Renegotiating that agreement could mean about $177,000 additional funds to the East Grand School District and $50,000 or so to the West Grand School District, Newberry said, who reminded the audience that the school finance problem affects both East Grand and West Grand districts. “West Grand is in trouble too,” he said. “That’s why we came to the table.”
Grand Foundation and Chamber Ron Nelson of the East Grand Education Foundation under the Grand Foundation said his board was willing to commit about 25 percent of its reserves to help the East Grand district’s short-term funding dilemma. Board member Tom Carey of the Winter Park/Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce said the chamber was willing to help, with energy “to get the message out,” or perhaps with funds.
Wild cards “I feel like Granby is the big elephant in the room,” said Granby Mayor Jynnifer Pierro, around the time when officials from each of the towns announced how much reserves
they had in their budgets. From the feedback she’s been getting around Granby, spending money for schools from the town’s budget would be a “hard sell,” she said. “But what I’ve been trying to tell people is the long-term viability of our school is in jeopardy,” she said. Fraser Town Manager Jeff Durbin expressed his concern about using town funds for the district, saying the town is already operating with a deficit. Granting money to schools would be “leveraging our future against the school board’s future,” he said. “I would suggest the school board is our future,” DeFrange replied. Grand Lake Mayor Judy Burke pointed out that Granby does have a dog in the fight, because if either school is shut down, the district would have a hard time passing a bond issue and all schools would suffer. Burke’s suggestion to the district is to revisit the budget with major cuts “from the top down” to try and avoid closing any school. Outside the meeting, Pierro further conveyed confusion about the current proposals, wondering whether forming a charter school or seceding from the district were still on the table for several Fraser Valley community members even if other towns step up to help.
LOVE: ‘He was an ambassador from Hot Sulphur wherever he went’ Continued from page 1
dull compared to Barney.
Big family Barney was the oldest of 10 children — five boys and five girls. When the family outgrew the house his dad built a tiny shack for Barney in the backyard. Barney was barely big enough to see over the dashboard when he started driving a truck for his father’s garage, which was located just up the street from the hotel. He was just 12 years old when he drove a load of dynamite over Trough Road. There were stories of the brakes overheating on Rabbit Ears Pass and Barney riding down on the fenders in case he had to bail and hairy trips over Berthoud Pass. Margaret said she never realized how good Barney was at skiing. He worked all the time driving the truck (his dad pulled him out of school for good in 10th grade), and he would head straight to the jumping hill in Hot Sulphur after work and wouldn’t come home until after dark. “He didn’t have the proper clothing,” Margaret said. “He wouldn’t even be able to open the door when he got home and he would stand at the door crying until his mother let him in.” His mother would bring him in, take his boots off and put his feet in a bucket of hot water to thaw them. “For him, it was skiing for the joy of skiing,” Margaret said. Barney raced on the weekends. Margaret rarely made it out of the restaurant to join him. It never struck her that skiing would someday become her husband’s career. “He was never one to blow his own
horn,” she said. He qualified for Nationals in jumping in 1935 at age 17, and his dad gave him a quarter to make the trip. "Here was a kid from a town that nobody had ever heard of who shows up at Nationals and wins it," his only child Melissa McLean Jory said. He qualified for the 1936 Olympics but was badly hurt on a wind-blown landing that winter and missed going.
Barney, who she knew would be going to meet the train at 11 a.m. One time, she was out there waiting, the snow was still piled high, and Barney got so caught up looking for Margaret in the window that he nearly ran the truck off the bridge. The only thing that saved him from plummeting into the river was the dual wheel that got stuck in the steel girder.
during the war and worked in the county courthouse. After the war, Barney earned a spot on the 1948 Olympic team. After that, he went on to work for the Groswold ski factory in Denver, losing his amateur status and disqualifying him from FIS ski racing. He was inducted into the US National Ski Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame in 1978.
Hot Sulphur, ski town
On the road
Always home
Margaret returned to Hot Sulphur almost every summer of her life after that, and by the time she was a teenager she was working for her aunt full time. “My friend Telly and I were the best waitresses in the county,” she said. Hot Sulphur had four ski hills back then and Margaret recalls that in February 1936 the Rocky Mountain News sponsored an excursion train to the 25th Annual Winter Carnival in Hot Sulphur. More than 2,000 passengers arrived on three trains that weekend. (That same train later became the official ski train. “There were no restrooms and no restaurants except for the hotel,” Margaret said. The Riverside was inundated. It was shoulder-to-shoulder people, she recalls. There wasn’t much to do for fun in Hot Sulphur back then, like now, so the young couple would drive up to Grand Lake — to the Pine Cone Inn — on summer nights to dance. It cost 10 cents per dance, and since they didn’t have much money, they would have just three dances ... “Oh, Barney could dance,” ... drink a Coke and then drive home. Margaret would wait by the front window of the hotel to watch for
Barney was 19 in 1937 when the couple married, not old enough for a marriage license and barely able to afford the suit he bought to get married (the first suit he ever owned) not to mention a big wedding. The couple eloped in Denver. Shortly after they married the couple started traveling the country for ski races and Barney switched from ski jumping to slalom. He was named as an alternate for the 1940 Olympic squad after skiing alpine for only two years. But, then the war came and everybody was signing up. Barney, with his skiing experience, would have been a perfect candidate for the 10th Mountain Division, but another Hot Sulphur friend who had already joined wrote and said, “Don’t join this outfit. It’s a mess.” So he signed up for the Air Force instead. As luck would have it, somebody recognized his name as it came across his desk, and Barney was assigned to the Army Air Force Arctic Survival School in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he was in charge of teaching pilots how to survive in snowy conditions should their planes go down. Margaret came back to Hot Sulphur
Barney had spent his whole life on the snow. He skied all over the world, from Europe to South America. "But Hot Sulphur Springs was always home to him," his daughter said. "He was an ambassador from Hot Sulphur wherever he went." Barney was 3 years old the first time he skied and he skied the spring before he died — at Mary Jane in 2005 — in a foot of new snow. His grandsons skied down with him, wing men on either side. His health was bad that last time he skied, and he had a hard time walking from the car to the chairlift. But as soon as he hit the top of Mary Jane Trail, everything eased, Melissa said: "He could ski better than he could walk." It was the things that made Barney McLean a world class skier that Margaret loved most: He loved speed. Bumps didn't bother him. And, when faced with a challenge he just picked a line and was gone. — Learn more about the life of Barney McLean at Pioneer Village Museum in Hot Sulphur Springs. The Grand County Historical Association is organizing a county-wide celebration of 100 years of skiing in Grand County, beginning on the anniversary of the first winter carnival in Hot Sulphur Springs Dec. 30, 2011. Contact the museum to learn how to help, 725-3939.
Weekend
Vol. 4, No. 37 February 18, 2011
skyhidailynews.com
COMMENTARY: “The East Grand School Board has part of the solution right in front of them.”
COMING WEDNESDAY
Letters, page 6
MPHS STUDENTS RACE AT DEVIL’S THUMB
It’s about community Fraser Valley parents explain why the elementary school is so important to them BY REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Middle Park’s Samantha Berggren (30) takes the lead at the start of the girls classic race at Morningstar Ranch outside of Fraser on Thursday afternoon. Berggren went on to take first place in the race. Middle Park’s nordic and alpine teams head to the state high school ski championships in Aspen next Thursday and Friday, Feb. 24-25.
With this inaugural edition of Forever Young, we extend a hearty welcome to a new crop of Grand County teen contributors to the Sky-Hi News. It speaks volumes that these young people have taken it upon themselves to spend their invaluable free time contributing to their local newspaper. It also belies stereotypes that casually — and erroneously — cast teens as aimless and lazy. Note that they do this independently of school credit or any official school involvement. I stand in awe and hope more teens choose to join them. — Drew Munro, editor
Parents, residents and second-home owners in the Fraser Valley are struggling to understand why the school district would consider closing Fraser Valley Elementary School in the face of a $1.2 million budget shortfall. Setting aside the school district’s financial arguments, residents of the Fraser Valley community have come up with more than a dozen compelling reasons to save their school. Whether it’s the emotion around putting a kid on long bus ride, the
As teenagers, we have a lot to say, but no one listens. We have opinions and thoughts but because we are “too young,” no one cares, and we have no way of expressing them. However, an opportunity has been given to us — we are able to express ourselves openly and freely to share our thoughts through the Sky-Hi News in Granby. After my internship at Sky-Hi News, I wished to extend to my fellow students the opportunity the newspaper staff gave me of expressing myself. There are many bright and hard working
Good Neighbors
How to contribute Any students who wish to submit their work, contact Damaris Acevedo at acevedo_damaris@yahoo.com.
students who want the chance to say what they want. Working alongside Sky-Hi, we will give them that chance. Students such as McCall Linke, Marina Koepke, Randi Strandberg and I are dedicating our free time to write about issues that surround us, as well as writing about our thoughts and opinions. We are given that chance to show the county Teens, page 2
Good Neighbors
Grand County’s emergency responders my 911 call. The firefighters struggled to Linda Wilson of Tabernash would like to recogcarry the injured party up the embankment nize a Grand County Good Neighbor. She writes, in snow above their knees. I was, as “Every year, I witness our emergency response Good Neighbors always, impressedGood with theNeighbors promptness and team haul someone up the embankment from efficiency of the crew. I know that it is their the YMCA meadow to U.S. Highway 40. The ‘job’ but they need to know how much we appreciate all other day a vehicle went off the highway and down into they do for us.” the meadow. The fire truck was there in minutes after
➤ Town of Fraser pledges $50,000 for schools, page 2
inconvenience of having kids so far away during the day, concern for loss of volunteer involvement, fear for the economic viability of the towns or business owner concerns about employees leaving, the vocal majority of the community seems to feel strongly enough about the school to support spending more taxpayer money to save it. Community leaders have pulled together in recent weeks in search of a solution, and their first See Fraser Valley, page 4 Christina Heil (left) and Lisa Simpson have seen the Grand Lake Elementary School funding issue both as parents and members of school advisory boards.
Teens express themselves BY DAMARIS ACEVEDO FOREVER YOUNG EDITOR
More inside
TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
GL parents have struggled with school issue for years BY TONYA BINA SKY-HI NEWS
“Did you see this?,” Christina Heil of Grand Lake asks as she sets down The Denver Post on the table. Splashed on Wednesday’s front page was the headline, “Schools bear brunt of Hick’s new cuts.” As much as $332 million is poised to be cut from the state’s K12 education budget. For Heil, the news is just another hurdle to overcome in her quest to ensure her four children, from grades second through seventh, have the school experience See Grand Lake, page 3
A2
SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100
General manager / editor Drew Munro x19600 dmunro@skyhidailynews.com
Newsroom Photos: Byron Hetzler . . . x19604 bhetzler@skyhidailynews.com
Tonya Bina . . . . . . . . . . . . x19603 tbina@skyhidailynews.com
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011
Continued from page 1
BY MARINA KOEPKE FOREVER YOUNG
I get home from school and sit down and what's the first thing I do? Log onto the infamous time-consuming site, Facebook. First things first, update status: 'Marina Koepke home from school! :).' Check. Peruse the news feed for any juicy gossip. Check. Stalk the new hottie three lockers down from mine. Check. Three hours later.... "I should probably start my homework." Since the invention of the internet, research communicating and countless other things have been made so much easier. But one of the booming ideas to set foot in the worldwide web is social networking. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other sites such as these have drawn hundreds of millions of people all over the world in the snares of creating a virtual pamphlet about yourself for the world to see. What's the appeal? Possibly because it is easier to communicate and stay involved with friend's and family's lives that you may not necessarily get to see very often. These social networking sites also allow for an easy way to share information. You can share pictures from your latest vacation, or a funny article you may find, and, if you want to really expose yourself, you can even share "what's on your mind." Just as with everything else in the world, there are pros and cons to this avant-garde idea of a "virtual you." It seems to consume a large percentage of our time (particularly teens). The addiction of these sites cause kids to spend more time on the internet rather than studying or doing other school work. Which in turn causes grades to drop. But, these sites allow for better communication and sharing of exciting events in your life with friends and family. They are also ideal for planning events. Instantaneously you can invite hundreds of people and send out information about it. This phenomenon of social networking has set the ball rolling for a big bang of virtual socializing for our future. As each day goes by it is reshaping our lives and the way we live them. Is it for the great or good? That depends; it all boils down to the individual's preference.
COURTESY PHOTO
Forever Young staff includes McCall Linke (from left), co-editor, Damaris Acevedo, editor, Randi Strandberg and Marina Koepke (not pictured).
through this section in Sky-Hi News called Forever Young. I know everyone, especially teenagers, has something to say. That is why I welcome students who wish to express themselves to submit their work and be heard. We are no longer “too young” to be heard. It’s our turn to speak up. I thank Sky-Hi News and their staff for their support and the opportunity they have given me and my fellow classmates to produce a student newspaper.
It’s called ‘political socialization’ BY MCCALL LINKE FOREVER YOUNG CO-EDITOR
The issue with school budget cuts brings up more than money. The resistance against conjoining the elementary schools raises the question: Do we have something against the other towns? During the sixth grade lunch the politics of our parents shows. There are the Granby kids table, the Fraser kids table and the Grand Lake kids table. There are few and far between of mixed tables. Middle School is full of drama no matter what district. At East Grand School District the tears are shed over cliques and groups — mainly made up geographically. After five or six years the groups start mixing, only because of “forced fun.” The junior year of Middle Park High School, really bonds the class through River Trip and Costa Rica. By the final year, when it’s almost too late, classmates will travel across the county to be with friends. What I’m trying to get at is the resistance of combining the elementary schools shows the cruelty of our
politics. This is where racism, sexism, etc. starts — the parents. It’s called political socialization. The whispers in the grocery store that say “we don’t want our kids mixing with those people,” are disgusting. Parents of other than Granby Elementary students are rightly woeful about the long bus rides, but look at other places. How far do they travel? And while you’re at it, look at other districts similar to our size — how many schools do they have? Three: one elementary, one middle school and one high school — definitely not five. Raising the extra money by sales tax would only stress the already troubled financial communities. Besides, we already voted and dismissed raising the sales tax. More importantly, what are we teaching our kids? That adapting, change, and compromise are bad? People who are different than us are not as good as us? Maybe it’s the politics getting in the way. Let logic lead the way. History has taught us, why haven’t we learned?
Late Start Tuesdays draw mixed reviews from students, others BY RANDI STRANDBERG FOREVER YOUNG
Walk in to Middle Park High School on a Tuesday morning at 8:30, and you won’t find us in classes. You will either find us scrambling to finish procrastinated homework, or just not find us at all. Most of us praise the extra time to cram, but does this extra hour one day a week really benefit us in the long run? Late start Tuesdays are the extra sleep for senioritisinfected soon-to-be graduates, the catch-up times on
the endless amounts of work for the overly stressed juniors, and the times for cliques of preppy freshmen and sophomores to catch up on their social lives. After asking several students, as well as some teachers here at Middle Park High School about their thoughts on late-starts, I have begun to understand the arguments over this issue. Because of the late start, Tuesday’s schedule is much different than the rest of the days of the week. First of all, there is no study hall on Tuesdays, which some kids
actually do like. This makes things more complicated by giving everyone lunch at the same time. Sharing the lunchroom affects those juniors and seniors who either don’t have their privilege passes, or simply choose to stay at school for lunch. The whole idea behind late start Tuesdays was to get an hour of teacher collaboration time. Vice Principal Mr. Thurston, says they are “great.” “We rearranged the whole year’s schedule, so that you are getting a better learning experience, because the
teachers are sharing and collaborating during that time so that they can teach you better,” said Thurston. On the other hand, students say that they would rather get out earlier in the day than start later in the morning. “We [in sports] are missing the afternoons anyway, so why not lessen our work by letting us get out early in the first place?” says junior Sydney Markle. For others, it isn’t a matter of when. Underclassmen, like sophomore Kelly Stefanski, say that they would like late starts a lot more if all of the
schools started late, “then the buses could run late, too, and I could actually sleep in,” said Stefanski. But not all opinions from students are negative. Senior Jamie Damon says that she “loves late starts. Period.” Many other seniors agree whole-heartedly. Late start Tuesdays seem to be getting along with our student body just fine. Although they could use a little revising for next year, late starts have helped to keep Middle Park somewhat sane, at least for the moment.
Town of Fraser pledges $50,000 to help keep schools open BY REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
FRASER — Town board members here pledged $50,000, Feb. 16, to help "buy a year" for Fraser and Grand Lake elementary schools. Six of the seven board members gave a thumbs up to the proposed charitable contribution. Board member Steve Sumrall questioned the
legality of the action and argued that the school district should find the $1.2 million in savings from within. But the other board members were swayed that the survival of the elementary school is critical to the town's long term economic viability. Fraser's contribution brings the total amount of pledges to date to roughly $380,000, said East Grand
Education Foundation president Ron Nelson. Pledges include $75,000 from the Town of Winter Park, $20,000 from Grand Lake, roughly $177,000 from the county (yet to be approved), $10,000 from the ski resort, and $50,000 from the East Grand Education Foundation, a donor advised fund of the Grand Foundation. The total amount the com-
munity would need to raise to buy the year is $500,000, Superintendent Nancy Karas said. If the community can show that level of commitment, she added, the district will consider contributing $500,000 from its reserves, which would leave it in a precarious situation with only one month's worth of funding in the bank. The remaining $200,000 shortfall would be achieved
through cuts identified by the District Accountability Committee. Karas told the Fraser town board that the school district will review the community pledges and consider how to proceed when it meets March 1. She added that district plans to make its final decision on the DAC recommendations when it meets March 29.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011
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SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
GRAND LAKE: Benefiting education countywide Continued from page 1
she and her husband envision for them. The threat of closure of the Grand Lake Elementary School prompted her to become involved two years ago. She joined the District Accountability Committee on the mitigation and fundraising committee. She went to meetings, she researched and she asked questions. “It took me from January of ’09 to July of ’09 to understand school finance, and I still don’t understand it all,” she said. Eventually, Heil recruited another mother. “By July, Christina got me involved,” said 15-year Grand Lake resident Lisa Simpson over coffee at the Blue Water Bakery on Wednesday. “If she was there, I was there, or if I wasn’t there, she was there. And so we literally covered everything. DAC, boardroom, work sessions, everything.” Heil is the president of Grand Lake’s Parent Advisory Committee, now PTA, and serves as the Parent Advisory Committee secretary at the middle school. She and Simpson also have become active in the non-partisan Great Education Colorado organization based in Denver, an arm of Great Futures Colorado. When the anti-tax measure Amendment 61 was to be on the November 2010 ballot, which could have crippled the East Grand School District Education budget, Simpson and Heil wrote by hand hundreds of postcards opposing it. Asked how many school-related meetings they have attended in just the past year: “About 70,” they said.
Both sides “In those first round of cuts, I didn’t know what was coming on the horizon,” Heil said about her role on the DAC. But she remembers the warning: “Year two is going to be just as bad.” Heil and Simpson shared a role on the 2010 DAC budget subcommittee, which had the consensus to recommend closing Fraser and Grand Lake schools. Both mothers grapple with that decision, which they recognized as being the best alternative for the entire district in the DAC’s charge to put students first. “But if you ask me personally if I ever wanted to close the school, I would absolutely say no, because it affects me personally
on a business level and a personal level,” said Simpson, a realestate broker. It took her about three months, she said, “to even consider there was a bigger picture — the district — not just Grand Lake. “After you get more information and education about the situation, you start to become a district supporter more than just a town supporter,” she said. For the Fraser community, which recently found out its school was in jeopardy, Simpson said she can relate to the waves of reaction. She has been attending Monday night group meetings in that community to share information. “They started out in a natural place, focused on their town and their school,” she said. “And now, they’ve started to open up and are starting to see the benefits on getting all the communities together and leveraging our resources and our power.” Both women support putting an additional 1 percent sales tax on the ballot in the near future, to not only save the Grand Lake school, but to improve education district-wide. “The big picture is the sales tax is only going to benefit you in the long run,” Heil said, who pointed to the newspaper, calling the state’s budget cuts a “gamechanger” in the need to move forward with improving education in Grand County. “It’s taking (the district) out from under the state, but also providing an investment in your county that’s going to attract people,” Heil said. “If you’re looking at the numbers, it’s tough, because it does cost $10,000 to educate a child in Grand Lake versus Fraser or in Granby,” Simpson said. “However, that being said, what is a town about? The premise of a town is to support its citizens and raise its children, hopefully, to be good citizens. If they’re connected to Grand Lake, they will make Grand Lake a better place in (future) years. Even if they move away, they move back.”
What’s next The women are awaiting any cue from the district board about ways to launch fundraising efforts to meet the town of Grand Lake’s challenge match of $20,000, approved on Feb. 14. The district board will soon deliberate about whether to accept offers of community fund-
ing to keep schools open, buying time for voters to decide on a possible sales-tax question in November. “We’re awaiting a decision and the marching orders of the district,” Heil said. “It will give us all direction and a common purpose to move forward.” Meanwhile, a district policy on fundraising poses a challenge. The policy, Simpson explained, is in place to protect children. “We don’t want Joe Merchandiser to go out and sell widgets in the name of ‘Johnny student’ and profit from it, take the money. However, it needs to be altered a little bit. It’s becoming a roadblock to moving forward and saving our schools.” To circumvent the policy, the Grand Lake Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee has changed its identity to the Grand Lake Community PTA, a nonprofit 501 (c)3 that could become the vessel needed to transfer private and public funds to the school district. “We have people ready to donate money,” Simpson said. Yet PTA members must be careful about how they word their message, saying “Please support our local community PTA,” instead of “save our schools,” Simpson said.
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How did we get here? The way Heil sees it, the problem stems from outside the realm of education in Colorado. “It’s truly the tax structure within Colorado. When you have increased need for services, more residents and students, the tax structure hasn’t accommodated that increased need. So Coloradans want to have all these great public services, but they’re not willing to vote to fund those services. So you need to vote, or you need to cut those services. And now we’re at such a crossroads.” Simpson also sees the problem of all the un-funded mandates from the state, such as requiring a certain amount of P.E. without funding salaries for P.E. teachers. “If things aren’t going to change at the state level, then something else has to step in,” Heil said. “We all understand the community schools are important. If we all join the big cause, your community is not only going to get your school, but an enhanced education at all schools. The entire district is going to be better off.”
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SKY-HI DAILY NEWS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011
FRASER VALLEY: Being close to students when they’re young Continued from page 1
and greatest hope is to keep things the way they are now by unifying all the county’s residents in finding a longterm funding solution.
Not just the bus ride The issue isn’t just about putting little kids on a bus to Granby, said David Michel, who has a law office in Winter Park and a 4-year-old and third-grader at Fraser Elementary. “It’s about stopping into the school in the middle of the day to see my kid’s 10-minute presentation on Einstein,” he said. The kids are all going to ride a bus to Granby eventually, he said. “But there’s a big difference between parental involvement at a younger age — when the kids want you to be there — and when they get older and want independence. Parents want to be an integral part of the classroom. It’s a critical time in terms of establishing the kids’ relationship with education.” Andrew Chasin — who has lived in the valley for seven years, sits on the Fraser Valley Metropolitan Recreation District Board and has a third- and a fourth-grader — said he personally drops the kids off at school every morning and picks them up in the afternoon. He stops by in the middle of the day when some-
thing special is going on in one of his kid’s classrooms, as do many other parents. The commute to Granby would not only take him away from work for too long, he said, it would cut into his kid’s after school programs, which generally run from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. “There would be a big ripple effect that would definitely impact their lives,” he said. The later activities are fine for older kids who can stay up later and function better later in the day, he added. Parent Bethany Baker said she, too, worries about the amount of time her young child would spend away from home if the elementary school was in Granby and how the commute time would cut into her child’s free time and time to do homework in the evenings. “When will our children get to participate in after-school activities/programs?” she asked. “When will they do homework? When they get home they will be burned out from the bus ride and how can they be expected to sit down again to practice spelling, reading, do their writing assignments.” Steve Radcliffe retired in Fraser about 6 years ago and doesn’t have any children at Fraser Elementary. But he does volunteer, teaching advanced math to fifthgraders once a week.
“Fraser Elementary isn't just a school. It is a community center,” he said. “When I go over there to teach, I run into everyone I know. I will bet there are 25-30 signatures on the volunteer page every day. It is a wonderful and vibrant school. ... If we close the school all of that energy from volunteers and parents will evaporate. I will not go to Granby to volunteer. I am sure I am not the only volunteer who feels that way.”
Other alternatives If the school closes, valley residents are already exploring options for a future charter school, a new school district and even a separate county. Many say they will leave the area, seek employment elsewhere. “I can work anywhere,” said Chasin, who telecommutes and whose wife Kelly runs Peak Pediatrics in Winter Park, which also has offices on the Front Range. “There is a definite possibility that if the schools close we might be one of those families that give up on the dream and move,” he said. “And we just built a house. This is our dream of a place to live — in a nice community out of the city where we don’t have to worry about anything. We live up here for quality of life and a lifestyle. “But, start taking a lot of that stuff away, and you start
to question why you are making all these sacrifices.” Chasin’s strong feelings about choosing where to live because of the schools are shared by many other parents, even some who don’t have children in the system. “I can't believe that this plan is even being talked about,” said Montana Cramer, who lives with her husband and 2-year-old son in Fraser. “My husband and I love the town of Fraser, it's a little more expensive to live here, but after weighing the pros and cons we decided this would be where we started and raised our family. “However, closing Fraser Elementary and restructuring the grade levels would be a deal breaker for us; we would just have to move out of the county because our child's education is far more important then our love for this small mountain ski town.” Winter Park business owners Hans and Hannelore Eichler said that while they don’t have kids in the school district anymore, they worry about retaining quality employees if the local school closes. They said they have at least several employees who would be certain to leave. And, when kids get sick, parents would have to miss work for more than an hour to go pick them up, which would put a hardship on the business, Hans said.
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Michel also said he can choose to live anywhere he wants. “I’ve got work in other places. I could move to other resorts.”
The tax solution Michel said he has been helping the community group research and draft a proposal for a 1-percent, county-wide sales tax increase to fund education. Such a tax could raise an estimated $3 million for education in Grand County, more than enough to keep all the schools open and bring back quality programs, according to proponents. In support of the sales tax, Grand Park developer Clark Lipscomb, who has been heavily involved in researching solutions to the school’s funding problem, argues that if people leave the Fraser Valley because the school there closes — and he estimates it could be as many as 100 students — that the entire school district would feel that impact. And, although it would give Winter Park the highest sales tax in the state (more than Aspen, Vail or Breckenridge) even business owners like the Eichlers and Stacey Rosacci, owner of The Salon at Winter Park, believe it’s likely the best solution as long as the school district is looking for ways to cut spending at the same time.
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DATE: Friday, February 25, 2011 TIME: 3:00—7:00 pm PLACE: Kremmling Memorial Hospital District’s Conference Room 214 S. 4th Street, Kremmling, CO 80459 Featuring: • One-on-one meetings with hospital emergency room physicians • Personal time with healthcare professionals who will provide, free of charge: vital signs, dietary recommendations, physical therapy exercise models, cardiac rehabilitation information and detailed facts on recognizing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. • Get reduced priced quick labs before the fair and discuss your results with a physician on the 25th! (See quick lab details). Grand County EMS will be at the mini-cardiac health fair to share information about first responder treatment of cardiac or stroke. Tours of emergency vehicles will be provided in the parking lot during the fair.
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FEBRUARY 25, 2011
WEEKEND
CENSUS: COUNTY GREW 19% BY TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
The 2010 U.S. Census numbers show Grand County’s population at 14,843, up 19.3 percent from a population of 12,442 people in 2000. That made Grand County the 13th fastest-growing county out o f C o l o r a d o’s 6 4 c o u n t i e s, according to an analysis by the
Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network compiled for the Denver Post. The data, released on Feb. 24, is the first glimpse at population counts for all Colorado areas. Statistics about race, voting age and housing data are among the information collected. Of Grand County’s total population, 11,825 residents are 18 years and older.
Town counts By town, the Census numbers show one-fourth of the county population living in the Kremmling area versus the eastern end of the county. The town of Granby shows the highest population of all towns in the county, with 1,864 citizens, seconded by Kremmling with 1,444 citizens, followed by Fraser with 1,224 citizens. Win-
ter Park is the next most-populated town with 999 residents, Hot Sulphur Springs is next with 663 citizens, and Grand Lake has 471 people claiming principle residency. Unincorporated Parshall and Tabernash show 47 and 417 residents respectively. Out of Grand County’s total 16,061 housing units, 60 percent are “vacant,” reflecting a large
second-home population, according to Census data. From 2000 to 2010, Grand County’s housing inventory increased by 5,167 units. Of the total number of units in 2000, 53 percent were deemed vacant. Winter Park has the highest ratio of empty housing units, with a total of 2,572 houses, condominiums and apartments || CENSUS, PAGE 4 ➤ ||
Rec district seeks input about TV
THE SHAPE OF FUN
BY REID ARMSTRONG rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com
Roy Van Dyke leaves fresh tracks on Thursday morning at SolVista Basin in Granby. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
FRASER — The meeting room at Grand Park Community Recreation Center was unusually full Feb. 22, as recreation district residents turned out to express hope that the board will continue to maintain the television antenna that has broadcast a handful of free network stations for the past two decades. It wasn't the normally active crowd of rec district users in attendance. "I don't play golf. This is the first time I've been inside this building. And, I don't play softball," said Jay Clough who lives on County Road 5. (The antenna) "is the only thing I use ... and I think we should spend the capital." Clough argued that the Fraser Valley has many elderly residents living on a fixed income who can't afford cable or satellite television, and that watching TV is their form of recreation. || TV, PAGE 3 ➤ ||
Quick action helped save library Jill Miles would like to recognize some Grand County Good Neighbors. She writes, “On behalf of the Grand County Librar y Board I would like to nominate library Good Neighbors patrons, firefighters and Public Health staff. I was in the Granby Library on Feb. 3 when frozen sprinkler pipes dumped hundreds of gallons of water inside the building. Nearby patrons sprang into action and, without any discussion, did what had to be done by moving books and furniture out of harm's way. Within 15 minutes, the fire department had shown up in force andGood had the water turned Neighbors off and were moving out the standing water. At the same time, the Fraser Valley Library was going through almost exactly the same thing, with the same quick response from their patrons and firefighters. In particular, Joe McDonald went the extra mile to help move books from Fraser to a safe, dry place. The Hot Sulphur Springs Library suffered a smaller flood that was handled with the help of their neighbors at the Public Health office. Without the quick response the damage to these three buildings and their contents would have been catastrophic. Grateful thanks, everybody.”
Granby pledges $20,000 for schools BY TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
Good Neighbors GRANBY — Trustees for the town of Granby unanimously pledged $20,000 in town funds toward the community campaign to support schools. “We could say it’s not our problem, it’s not our school,” Mayor Jynnifer Pierro hadGood said inNeighbors her discussion during the Feb. 22 town board meeting. “I don’t really think that’s necessarily true because if the schools close, our schools will change. Our kids will be directed to different schools.” The decision to lend support was made with few constituents in attendance, without anyone speaking in opposition.
“I was hoping more people would be here,” said Pierro. “But that’s the way it goes sometimes.” Pierro advocated support for the pledge partly because Granby Jynnifer Pierro received so much support from other towns and organizations after the bulldozer rampage in 2004 — including from the East Grand School District — and the town has supported other agencies during their time of need, such as the town of Holly, when tornadoes leveled the town, and the Grand County Library District during its building campaign.
More on page 2 ➤ SCHOOL BOARD explores more funding options, cuts ➤ STATE CUTS exacerbate East Grand School District budget woes “Is this the time to help, or to say no?” Pierro asked fellow board members. Trustee Ed Raffety responded by moving to pledge the amount of $20,000. “I think it’s important for our community to be responsible for our children,” he said. “If the funding is not right for the schools, that’s our fault. Our fault as adults.” “I agree with Ed, we need to help || SCHOOLS, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
2 SKY-HI NEWS || February 25, 2011
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
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District works to ‘buffer’ reserves BY TONYA BINA
Timeline
tbina@skyhidailynews.com
GRANBY — East Grand School District Board members have confirmed that $500,000 is the dollar amount needed from the community to meet the needs of next year’s projected $1.02 million funding shortfall. Some $400,000 has been pledged to date between towns, the Grand Foundation, Winter Park Resort and the contribution Grand County anticipates from Forest Reserve funds. (Those negotiations have been set for March 8 at the Grand County Commissioner boardroom.) Where $400,000 was tossed around as a possible community funding goal before, news of added state rescissions has caused the district to take a more conservative stance. In doing so, the school board is preparing for up to 70 fewer students in the 2011-2012 school year, which could mean $440,489 less in sate funding to the district, not counting the loss of student fees associated with fewer students, according to budget paperwork passed out during a budget update at the Feb. 22 East Grand School District workshop. In this scenario, with fewer enrolled students next year and less money from the state, district
March 1, community members plan to present to the East Grand School District board progress on the $500,000 funding goal. Discussion will continue on the formation of an ad-hoc committee for exploring sustainable funding for schools. March 8, school district officials from East and West Grand school districts meet with county commissioners to discuss the distribution of forest reserve funds. March 15, the East Grand School District Board plans to deliberate on the budget direction for the 2011-2012 school year, i.e. school closures. If board members feel comfortable, it’s possible a decision could be made. March 29 is East Grand School District Board’s self-imposed deadline to make a decision on school closures. administrators are seeking to “create a buffer” with its $1.8 million available reserves, said Superintendent Nancy Karas. W h e r e t h e c o m m u n i t y ’s $500,000 funding goal is a set figure to keep Fraser and Grand Lake elementary schools open in the 2011-2012 school year, the district’s present share of $522,803 could grow at the whim of state budget decisions, Karas explained: “It puts us at a greater risk.” Karas distributed documents on
possible budget reductions for the next fiscal year to maintain more of a buffer in the school district reserves, such as cuts in certified, classified and administrative positions and cuts in textbook adoptions, library books, technology and materials and supplies. All in all, the net gain for these added cuts — which partially would offset other budget increases in utilities — would be $190,553, according to budget estimates. The district board is also floating the idea of asking district employees to help cover health insurance increases in the total amount of $66,670 and teachers’ education compensation in the amount of $60,000. The district board appeared split on possible cuts to teacher education steps, for example compensating someone for achieving a masters degree. Board Member Barbara Ahrens said yanking this salary benefit would be unfair to those who had worked toward it. Melissa Quinn agreed with Ahrens. Joan Evans disagreed: “You can’t cut people’s jobs and give others raises in the same community,” she said. In consideration of these inhouse, one-time cuts, the district could aim to spend $280,000 (rather than $500,000) out of its
reserves to keep schools open in the coming year, Karas said. That way, the district safeguards itself from the prospect of more budget hits coming down the pike, she said. Cuts to athletics and activities or increased revenues through fees could save the district an additional $150,000, according to Athletic Director Brandon Thurston who serves on the athletics and activities committee of the District Accountability Committee. The committee is looking possibly to increase athletics fees to $90 per student, Thurston said, alleviating the sliding scale and family cap options and, for the first time, charging activities fees on electives such as band, choir and drama. More expensive sports may require higher fees, Thurston said.
Forming a committee The East Grand School District Board has assigned members Tom Sifers, Barbara Ahrens and Melissa Quinn or Joan Evans to consider the formation of a special committee made up of citizens from the district, charged with researching sustainable funding solutions for district schools. The board members plan to meet prior to the March 1 district board meeting to discuss how such a committee could be formed fairly.
New state cuts affect school budgeting issues BY REID ARMSTRONG Sky-Hi News
If lawmakers sign off on Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed budget, the situation for East Grand School District could get much worse. The governor revealed a budget plan Tuesday, Feb. 15, asking lawmakers to slash public school and higher education funding by $375 million to help the state overcome an estimated $1 billion budget gap. East Grand School Superintendent Nancy Karas estimates that the governor’s proposal could increase her district’s estimated shortfall for the 2011-2012 school year by about $220,000. The community was already trying to help the district make up a $1 million-
plus shortfall by working to raise roughly $400,000 in private and public charitable donations. But, under this new scenario, any cuts the District Accountability Committee (DAC) recommends may be used to offset that additional $220,000, which could increase the amount the community needs to raise to “buy a year,” for Grand Lake and Fraser Elementary school, Karas said. That amount needed to “buy a year” for the schools has been a moving target over the past several weeks and will likely continue to change until the final budget bill is signed in May, Karas said. Even then, the budget could continue to change, Karas added. As late as October 2010, the school district was informed of an additional funding cut for the current
➤ SCHOOLS, FROM PAGE 1 the schools,” said Trustee Elaine Henrekin. “But my question is: What’s going to happen next year? Are we going to be in the same boat if this sales tax doesn’t pass?” Trustee Deb Shaw agreed. “So how many years are we going to throw money at this problem?” she asked. Yet in spite her concerns, Shaw eventually spoke in favor of the pledge. “It may not be what everybody wants,” she said, “but you have to do what’s right for the students. And I don’t think closing schools is right for the students.” For Trustee Ken Coatney, his vote was cast as a path toward improving education countywide,
hinging on the possibility of a sales tax question in November. “It’s a huge paradigm shift in the community to get behind this. I don’t like the tax. I don’t know anybody who does like the idea of a tax,” he said. “But at what point do you say enough is enough?... If my kid was bussed to Fraser or Grand Lake, would I care? “It’s a nuisance, an inconvenience, but it’s fine. I’m more worried about the quality of education. That’s the trend that scares me, if it keeps going down, it’s only a matter of time before the quality of the programming is affected,” he added. “I don’t care what building or where the building is
West Grand On the other end of the county, West Grand School District is still in a wait-and-see mode, said Superintendent Kevin Chalfant. Before the governor’s announcement Tuesday, Chalfant said he was anticipating a $200,000 to $250,000 shortfall due primarily to
a sunsetting property tax override that voters declined to renew last fall. Because of property tax revenue received from Henderson Mill, West Grand is one of six or seven districts in the state that is in a “categorical buyout,” which means the district is funded entirely by local property taxes and it doesn’t receive any additional funding from the state. Last year, the State Stabilization formula was different for the districts in categorical buyout, Chalfant said. Less money was rescinded from those districts. But, Chalfant added he won’t know for a while how these new cuts will affect his budget. “We’re definitely concerned about it,” he added. Chalfant said he is following the
situation in East Grand and is in discussions with the county commissioners about a possible increase in Forest Reserve funding. He added that although East Grand School District is “driving the discussion” on a possible 1percent county-wide sales tax increase, West Grand School District will “do our best to promote it,” if the measure heads to the ballot this November. A 1 percent sales tax solution has the potential to make up all the funds West Grand has lost in recent years, which has forced cuts that the community won’t really begin to feel until school starts next fall, Chalfant said. Hickenlooper said schools account for about 40 percent of the state’s budget.
physically located, I care about the quality of the programming, and that’s why I could see supporting this. It’s time to seize control of our schools.” “We want to have the best school system. We want people to come here because of our school system,” said Ron Nelson, president of the East Grand Education Foundation and a former banker and teacher, speaking at the meeting. With more state cuts in K-12 education on the horizon, Nelson advocated increased local support of the school district in the future, saying the state “can’t touch our mill levy tax, can’t touch our sales tax.” “Of all the communities on the list, we are in the toughest spot,”
said Tr ustee Greg Mordini. “Schools have got to be our priority. It’s an issue like this that can either bring our communities together, or it’s going to tear us apart.” Mordini later suggested the town pay off its lease purchase for the firehouse and redirect to the schools some or all of the $79,000 in savings from interest of the life of the loan, in addition to the $20,000. “Paying principle and interest to a bank doesn’t stay in the county,” pointed out Granby Town Manager Wally Baird. Trustees nearly voted to pledge “at least” $20,000 in support, pending the outcome of the lease purchase.
“There will be people that do not agree with us on this. A lot of people,” Pierro said. “I challenge them to run for office. I challenge them to run for the school board.” Pierro called the town board’s direction the “high road.” “The bottom line is, they love their school as much as we love ours,” Pierro said of the communities facing elementary-school closures, recounting one particular conversation she has with a Fraser parent. “It wasn’t about sending kids to Granby, it was about losing their school.”
budget year, months after school had started. The total proposed “State Stabilization Factor” for 2011-2012 budget cycle (also called a recission) is now a little more than $1.3 million for East Grand School District, Karas said. That includes the $610,000 State Stabilization recission that former Gov. John Ritter imposed, plus an additional $737,000 rescission being proposed by Gov. Hickenlooper.
Tonya Bina can be reached at 970887-3334 ext. 19603.
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 41 || FREE
LETTERS – PAGE 6 –
WINTER PARK WEEKEND Page 4
CALENDAR – PAGE 9 –
YOUR S OURCE FOR G RAND C OUNT Y, C OLORAD O NEWS || UPDATED DAILY AT SKYHIDAILYNEWS.COM
MARCH 4, 2011
WEEKEND
Community raises $500K for schools East Grand board scheduled to vote on proposals TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
The East Grand Schools community is on the verge of meeting its $500,000 funding goal to support schools in the 2011-12 school year. As many as 11 public, private and
nonprofit donors — including five towns and the county — have pledged or are awaiting board approvals to pledge — money to keep schools open next year to buy time for a campaign aimed at finding sustainable funding for schools. “What’s happened in the past month is extraordinary,” said David Michel of Tabernash, commenting on the unified response among donors. “Schools are exceptionally important,” said Silvio DeBartolomeis, representing the Rendezvous Foundation, one of several philanthropic organizations that
contributed to the cause. “We recognize how important local schools are to a local community.” “In our opinion, there is a direct correlation between the economic health of a community and the short- and long-term strength of its community schools,” said Suzanne Fanche of the Sprout Foundation, a nonprofit focused on supporting organizations and institutions that serve children’s needs and preserve the environment. “As local business owners and property owners, Bob and I realize how important
Challenge grant pledges • Grand County, about $170,000 in Forest Reserves, pending board approval • The Sprout Foundation, up to $100,000 • Winter Park $75,000 • Fraser $50,000 • East Grand Education Foundation $50,000 • Granby $20,000 • Grand Lake $20,000 • Rendezvous Foundation $10,000 • Winter Park Resort $10,000 • Under $10,000 (pending): Winter ParkFraser Valley Chamber of Commerce; Mountain Parks Electric Education Trust
|| SCHOOLS, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
FIXING A ‘DEATH TRAP’ Blue Valley Ranch donates $805,000 to make Highway 9 safer TONYA BINA
human fatalities have taken place. Most recently among them was in 2007, when East Grand School teacher Amy KREMMLING — Many remember the Gallagher, 26, died from injuries that she tragedy. suffered when she lost control of her Isuzu On the eve of Dec. 3, 1985, Gene, 41, on the icy roadway. Her car slid into the and Mimi Ritschard, 45, of Kremmling, southbound lane and struck an oncoming were returning home from Gene’s Farm Ford Bronco. For several years, Blue Valley Ranch Bureau meeting in Colorado Springs. Christmas presents Mimi had bought employees have been keeping track of while shopping in the city were piled in accidents and wildlife deaths north of Green Mountain Dam Road between the back of their Volkswagon Rabbit. On Highway 9 across from Blue Valley Highway 9 mile markers 127 and 137. Deaths of wild animals can amount to Ranch, the driver of a Ford LTD swerved 25-30 percent of the resito barely miss a deer and dent deer herd in a single collided head-on with the year, said John Kossler of Ritschards’ car, killing B l u e Va l l e y R a n c h , a them both instantly. The 25,000-acre wildlife conother driver survived. servancy and productionIt was a dark time for a g r a n c h t h a t i n a re a s their four children, whose sprawls to the both sides of ages at the time ranged Highway 9. from 15 to 23. Becoming The highway bisects the legal guardian of his JEANETTE DEBELL feeding and watering habiyoungest sister, the eldest, WEST GRAND tat of mule deer. The mule Mi k e R i t s c ha rd , “ w a s SCHOOL BUS DRIVER deer forage for food on thrown into fatherhood,” their wintering range east said his wife Susan of the highway, but every Ritschard. Although the family eventually “pulled day must cross the road to water at the through” with the help of family and com- Blue River on the west side of the road. Animal casualties are so common on munity, emotional scars of the tragedy remain. Susan recognizes how to this day, Highway 9, especially in the spring, West s h e a n d M i k e r a r e l y l e t t h e i r o w n Grand Schools bus driver Jeanette DeBell teenagers drive far on any road, and “we has heard students “play a game counting don’t buy small cars anymore,” Susan how many dead carcasses are on the side said. of the road,” she said. For 31 years, DeBell has transported ‘Death trap’ students on Highway 9 to and from The Blue Valley Ranch near Kremmling, school, on activity trips and trips to and owned by billionaire hedge fund manager from ball games. Her present route Paul T. Jones II of Greenwich, Conn., is involves driving through the lower Blue donating $805,000 to Grand County with Valley each day to collect young passent h e a i m o f i m p rov i n g t h e s a f e t y o f gers. Colorado State Highway 9. “Highway 9 is a death trap,” she said. Accidents involving deer, elk, icy condi“I’ve personally never had an accident tions or speeding vehicles are a frequent out there, but I’ve avoided lots.” occurrence along the Grand County The bus she presently drives has a dent stretch of Highway 9, a two-lane road in the side of it from a deer running into it lacking shoulders on which too many while crossing the highway. On another Sky-Hi News
I’ve personally never had an accident out there, but I’ve avoided lots.
Traffic moves along Highway 9 south of Kremmling on Thursday morning. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS occasion, DeBelle was forced to hit a deer with the hood, she said. She had been driving slow enough to avoid any damage to the bus, but the animal probably suffered, she said.
‘People in a hurry’ According to those who frequently drive on Highway 9, speeders, a two-lane road-
way lacking shoulders, and ice and snow are common threats to safety. Truck driver Larry Janssen of HVH Transportation, Kremmling, said widening the road should be a top priority. Having more of a shoulder would give drivers more lead time to react to an animal darting onto the road, and for truckers, a || HIGHWAY 9, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
2 SKY-HI NEWS || Friday, March 4, 2011
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SLASH AND BURN
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U.S. Forest Service crews ignite slash piles on the north side of Green Ridge near Shadow Mountain Reservoir on Thursday morning. The slash burns are to mitigate hazardous fuels in the area. Officials anticipate needing one more day of burning in the Green Ridge area.
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
➤ HIGHWAY
➤ SCHOOLS, FROM PAGE 1 quality schools are to attracting and retaining great employees and as a result, creating successful businesses and a vibrant place to live and work,” she added. “We look forward to working with community members to find additional creative solutions for weathering these challenging economic times and the impact it has had on our area schools.”
Board vote pending What remains is a decision from the East Grand Board of Education about whether to spend about 1 6 . 7 p e rc e n t o f i t s av a i l a b l e reserves to keep schools open in the first half of next school year and accept the community’s offer to cover budget shortfalls in the second half of the school year. School board members agreed on March 1 they may be ready to make a decision at the March 15 board meeting, a date sooner than the originally anticipated March 29 decision date. The East Grand School District Accountability Committee also plans to introduce a revised budget recommendation on March 15. Community representative Ron Nelson gave a presentation about how community funding would support schools. The community contributions would only be
cashed if a possible November ballot question focused on a longterm funding solution for the district were to fail. The proposal is being presented to the school board as an alternative to closing schools or making drastic cuts to the district budget.
Ongoing funding “We can make all the cuts we want to. But if we use the ax too much, the tree falls down,” Nelson said, advocating the direction of ultimately seeking a 0.5 percent or 1 percent countywide sales tax increase, or some alternative source of funding. Nelson’s presentation noted the benefits sustainable funding would mean for all East Grand Schools, pointing out Routt County’s half-cent sales tax model, established in 1993 and extended by voters in three subsequent elections, which supports Steamboat Springs, SoRoCo and Hayden school districts. The presentation also outlined how a citizen campaign for a Grand County sales tax increase could be organized and executed. Yet some parents at the meeting were concerned for the short-term risk the district might incur. Parent and Granby Elementary School Teacher Gay Linke of Hot Sulphur
9, FROM PAGE 1
shoulder would improve safety during storms when “people tend to drive more toward the middle,” he said. By DeBell’s assessment of the road in the past three decades, traffic has increased “ten-fold.” “People are commuting farther to work, and people are going to Steamboat now more than they used to,” she said. “Even though there are several signs posted along the highway to watch for wildlife, I think people are in a hurry these days.” The highway is posted 65 mph, but for DeBell: “I think that’s too fast.” DeBell has seen commuters pass her illegally on yellow double lines or at crests of hills. “And when they do pass you, they cut you off early,” she said. About five years ago, a Volk-
swagon Beetle tried to pass illegally, lost control, then spun in front of the school bus. DeBell slowed the bus down and was able to steer around the person on the icy road. “I thought I was going to hit him,” she said. “Any time you have kids on the bus and somebody does something stupid ... It affects you.” Among other accidents she has witnessed, DeBell once saw a young lady lose control of her vehicle and end up in a ravine south of the Blue Valley Ranch driveway. Since it was before the day of common cell phone usage, another motorist watched over the shaken driver as DeBell went on for help.
Private-public partnership For the 18 years the ranch has been in operation, Blue Valley
Springs said spending the district’s reserves felt to her like “spending my child’s savings account.” “I’m worried all we’re doing is putting a Band-Aid on it right now,” said Keri Dornbusch of Granby. “It very much scares me to use the reserves.” E a s t G ra n d Mi d d l e S c h o o l Teacher Abby Loberg wanted assurances that, as an effort is launched to keep schools open, community members are not simultaneously talking about “charter schools” and “redistricting” in certain areas of the district. “It gives me fear,” she said. Michel responded, saying that is not the sentiment of the “core” group of people leading the cause. “It’s not a rational alternative when we have an opportunity to keep schools from closing,” Michel said. “ We h av e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o improve the whole school district. I don’t think anybody is looking into doing anything (on charter schools).” Both Gary DeFrange of Winter Park Resort and Grand County Commissioner James Newberry said even if the schools consolidate, the district may still be in need of a long-term funding source that does not rely on property taxes or the state. With unknown state funding, anticipated decreases in assessed property values and what may be fewer students enrolled in
owner and operators have recognized the danger posed to wildlife a n d m o t o r i s t s. T h e g o a l o f improving the highway — perhaps with underpasses designed to allow deer and elk to travel safely, fencing, widening the narrow stretch, even adding paved shoulders to the highway to accommodate bike paths — has been a Ranch priority for several years, said Blue Valley Ranch Manager Perry Handyside. The owner hopes to make the highway safer for employees, his family, the community and for commuters who use the popular highway connecting resort destinations in Summit, Grand and Routt counties. “The owner decided it was time to do something about it,” Handyside said. Jones, a philanthropist and conservationist, has “been here for 18 years and considers himself
part of the community,” Handyside said. “He spends his summers here. This is how he contributes to the community.” At the March 1 Grand County commissioners’ meeting, Blue Valley Ranch, represented by Handyside and Kossler, forged a private-public partnership with Grand County for an eventual fix to 10 miles of highway from mileposts 126 to 136.6. Jones is providing the sum of $805,000 to the county, which through Grand County, will fund preliminary work of the Colorado Department of Transportation that should get the highway project “shovel ready” in the event future funding comes available for actual construction. The outlined work is “preliminary engineering and final design of safety improvements, including integration of the latest methods for preventing vehicle-
the district, “there’s a risk either way we go,” said DeFrange. If a sustainable funding solution were to pass, said East Grand School Board President Tom Sifers, he would not want to see a sunset clause included. The district would then be left in a situation of “trying to do something else,” if one were to expire, he said. “Can we operate the school district on what the state gives us? Yes. We can do it,” Sifers said. “We just won’t have very many happy people in the audience” — meaning a district constituency dissatisfied with consolidations, deep cuts, or both.
Committee forming Prior to the meeting, school board members met and agreed to appoint various members of the community to an ad-hoc committee that would pursue the best direction for long-term funding for the school district. Those invited to the board would be representatives from each of the towns and organizations that contributed money toward the $500,000 community challenge, as well as representatives from East Grand and West Grand school districts. As many as 20 members might be on the committee. Tonya Bina can be reached at 970-8873334 ext.19603.
wildlife collisions and wildlife mitigation strategies such as fencing, underpasses and widening in addition to other minor improvements,” reads the agreement between Jones and Grand County. “Grand County deeply appreciates this generous contribution from Blue Valley Ranch,” said Commissioner Gary Bumgarner. “It takes us a big step closer to making Highway 9 safer for the residents of the county and for all of the visitors who travel here.” “The Grand County Commissioners and the Colorado Department of Transportation have worked hard to make the arrangements necessar y to receive this donation,” Handyside said. “All of us at the ranch are grateful for their support and pleased to be able to help make Highway 9 safer.”
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 42 || FREE
WELLS FARGO SKI CUP photos, page 2
PETS – PAGE 5 –
REAL ESTATE – PAGE 10 –
YOUR S OURCE FOR G RAND C OUNT Y, C OLORAD O NEWS || UPDATED DAILY AT SKYHIDAILYNEWS.COM
County OKs $227,000 for Grand schools TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
Grand County commissioners unanimously voted on Tuesday to give schools a greater percentage of Forest Reserve funds. The decision could mean about $170,000 in additional Forest Reserve funds to the East Grand School District, and about $57,000 to the West Grand School District. The money for East Grand closes the funding gap needed to meet the $500,000 community challenge in support of schools. The West Grand funds could help the district in its projected $250,000 to $500,000 funding shortfall next school year.
MARCH 9, 2011
WEDNESDAY
Mardi Gras party favor
Federal Forest Reser ve money is supplied to the county annually in lieu of property taxes to offset impacts from hosting public lands within county borders. By law, the money must be allocated to county road and bridge departments to help manage county roadways leading to public lands, and to area schools. A 25 percent portion of Forest Reserves doled out to a county must be given to schools, 25 percent to the road and bridge department. The other 50 percent can be negotiated between the county and the school districts, according to county officials. || SCHOOLS, PAGE 8 ➤ ||
Kremmling, county split on drilling leases TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
GRAND COUNTY — County commissioners here have come out against federal oil and gas leasing on properties nominated for the Aug. 11 competitive oil and gas lease sale. M e a n w h i l e , To w n o f Kremmling officials wrote a letter in support of potential leases. In a letter dated Feb. 1 to the Bureau of Land Management — the agency overseeing the environmental review of private properties with federal minerals up for possible oil and gas exploration — Marianne Klancke, a resident of the Fraser Valley since the early ’70s, died suddenly last Thursday. COURTESY PHOTO
Grand County commissioners cited water resources and water quality as main reasons for opposing leases. As many as eight Grand County parcels were on an original list of nominated lands, totaling about 12,412 acres. Upon review, the BLM has since pared that number down to four parcels in the Kremmling area facing the federal environmental review process, which helps determine potential impacts from possible oil and gas production. “Grand County has a growing concern regarding availability of water to support the
Corbin Frick, 10, of Littleton is surprised by a giant puppet during Mardi Gras festivities at Winter Park Resort on Saturday. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
|| LEASES, PAGE 8 ➤ ||
Remembering Marianne Klancke Longtime Fraser Valley citizen touched the lives of many BY REID ARMSTRONG rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com
Community activist, political cartoonist and longtime Fraser Valley resident Marianne Klancke died in her
sleep at home March 4. She was 58. She leaves behind her devoted husband of nearly 40 years, river health advocate Kirk Klancke, as well as her two daughters, Carridy and Krista, and grandchildren Ellen and Mason.
The Jock and the Nerd Marianne grew up in Prairie Valley, Kan., and started dating Kirk during their freshman year of high school,
To donate Send checks in Marianne Klancke's memory to The Sprout House, Grand County Advocates, PO Box 155, Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451. “which meant my mom would drive us to a movie and pick us up when it was over,” Kirk said. || MARIANNE, PAGE 4 ➤ ||
8 SKY-HI NEWS || Wednesday, March 9, 2011
➤ LEASES, FROM PAGE 1 current population and tourism sector,” the Grand County letter states, which listed all eight Grand County parcels. “Adding large industry, such as Oil and Gas, would put even further strain on this valuable resource.” Meanwhile, the Kremmling town board wrote the BLM in support of possible leases of land in Grand County, saying under the watch of various state and federal agencies, there are “sufficient safeguards in place to ensure the protection of wildlife and water quality.” “We support the retrieval of these resources at home rather than abroad,” the Kremmling letter states. “These leases, although small in size, provide an opportunity to move toward this goal.” Kremmling’s Feb. 16 letter, signed by Mayor Thomas Clark, points out that oil and gas exploration and production could “help the economy of the area.” “I just want folks to know we are interested in economic development,” Clark said at the Feb. 16 town board meeting. Four properties in Grand County totaling 2,800 acres are now up for environmental review as possible parcels for oil and gas lease sales. Three parcels totaling 1,700 acres are grouped 10 miles northwest of Kremmling, north of the Gore Pass road and County Road 19. Another parcel of 1,100 acres is located about eight miles northeast of Kremmling, about five miles east of Wolford Mountain Reservoir. Federal oil and gas leases last up to 10 years, unless they are extended due to actual production. But most leases are never developed, according to BLM spokesperson David Boyd. There are about 27,000 acres of feder-
SKYHIDAILYNEWS.COM
Cooking up a fundraiser
Additional review Under the new policy for oil and gas leasing, individual field offices within the Bureau of Land Management are conducting environmental analyses on lands proposed for specific oil and gas lease sales. This policy allows the public an additional chance to review specific potential leasing decisions before the lease sale occurs. The Environmental Assessment pertaining to properties within Grand County may be reviewed at www.blm.gov/co/kfo, or at the Kremmling Field Office during regular business hours. Comments on the Environmental Assessment need to be received by March 24. The BLM will then make a decision on the parcels by early June, which then triggers a 60-day period during which the public can protest the decision. The lease sale is set to take place on Aug. 11. al oil and gas leases currently in Grand County, none of which have been or are being developed. “There are no active oil and gas wells on federal leases in Grand County,” Boyd said. As many as 59 leases regardless of jurisdiction are listed on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission website, none of which are producing wells. Most are listed as “dry and abandoned.” About 4.9 million acres are leased in Colorado. Of those, 2,502 are producing leases on 1.9 million acres, and 3,161 are non-producing leases totaling 3 million acres. Tonya Bina can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19603
Indian Peaks Charter School 8th-graders spent a morning recently cooking Boeuf Bourguignon with Jean Claude and Becky McBride at Caroline’s Cuisine. The meal was served to guests at the Grand Lake restaurant that evening as a fundraiser for the IPCS French program. Teachers and students wish to thank supporters and a special thanks to The Grand Chorale, Lynnea Godfriaux and the “Drama Queens” for the entertainment. Pictured, from left, are IPCS French teacher Kate Elliot, Bradon Lawson, Maria Lay, Kent Kessler, Guinness Sonntag, Hayden Fisher, and Aziz Hanna. COURTESY PHOTO
➤ SCHOOLS, FROM PAGE 1 Grand County has traditionally given more than the 25 percent to support schools, splitting the money between West and East Grand school districts. But in their decision, Grand County commissioners agreed to split the money 25 percent for road and bridge, 75 percent to schools. Commissioner Gary Bumgarner said he was hesitant in light of the fact the county has frozen employee salaries and has decreased bonuses for its employees. He advocated
school districts “working together” to find more cuts — his example was combining superintendents — and to educate the community about what budget hurdles the district has in state and federal mandates and school financing so the community can be involved in changing the system. The county funding for schools was viewed as an “investment in community that will come back to us,” said Commissioner James Newberry. “Hopefully, the school districts will come together to look into something long-range,” he said.
Middle Park Medical Facility - Granby Update March 2011 The project has been plowing ahead through the winter. Just prior to the first major snows, the exterior concrete wall panels were set and the interior struc tural support steel and roof deck was set in place. As the winter wares on, the project team has focused in the interior but setting the perimeter insulation, caulking below grade panel joints and concentrating on the interior underground plumbing and electrical. As we enter the last weeks of winter and push into warmer weather, (1) Structural exterior walls complete.
(2) Roof decking installed and roof membrane being installed. (3) Site work will resume in the next few weeks. (4) Water line and new water service has been installed (5) Entrance canopy has been constructed. (6) Roof top mechanical pads have been poured. (7) Underground plumbing is nearing completion. (8) Underground electrical nearing completion. (9) Interior slab is scheduled to be poured by end of March.
Main Galleria Ceiling Takes Shape
Roofing Material - Waiting for a nice day to dry things out
Underground Plumbing Stub-outs - Ah the mud but a little warmer inside
Todd Ficken *Board meetings are held at the Kremmling Chamber of Commerce, conference room.
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VOLUME 4, NUMBER 60 || FREE
CALENDAR – PAGE 9 –
LOCAL SPORTS page 6
REAL ESTATE – PAGE 9 –
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Disaster training
MAY 11, 2011
WEDNESDAY
GL Elementary back in crosshairs Savings would cover entire budget shortfall TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
Because of a shift in the East Grand School District budget outlook for the next two years, closing the Fraser Elementary school may be off the table this year, but closing Grand Lake Elementary School is still a budget option, according to a frank discussion school officials had with Grand Lake Tow n B o a rd m e m b e r s o n Monday. East Grand Superintendent Nancy Karas explained this perspective through district budget numbers. Also in attend a n c e w e re s c h o o l b o a rd member Barbara Ahrens, school board President Tom Sifers, Grand Lake Elementary Principal Phyllis Price and the school district’s business manager Donette Schmiedbauer. “If you were a manager in this business, would you keep this business open?” Karas asked town stewards, referring to current budget projections that show Grand Lake Elementary with just 49 students next year. Each student would cost the district $11,373 to educate,
Winter Park council talks funding with school officials BY REID ARMSTRONG rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com
School officials met with Winter Park Town Council during a work session Tuesday, May 10, to answer questions and discuss concerns regarding the school funding situation. Superintendent Nancy Karas and School Board President Tom Sifers told council members that the school district no longer needs the town's $75,000 pledge to keep Fraser Ele|| WINTER PARK, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
which is $4,940 over the state funding level and the highest cost per-student out of all district schools. “I ask the board, if these were your books, how would you vote?” she asked during an hour-plus long discussion about possible district budget scenarios. || GRAND LAKE, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
Katja Austin, ‘so lucky to have her’
Granby firefighters participate in an extrication training exercise with Amtrak Emergency Preparedness officials on Saturday in Fraser. In addition to local fire departments, members of Grand County EMS and law enforcement officials participated in the training, which was being conducted in advance of a fullscale mass casualty exercise being conducted Saturday, May 14, on the east side of the Moffat Tunnel. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Ellen Stone of Kremmling writes, “I would like to nominate Katja Austin as a Grand County Good Neighbor. Working as an RN at Mountain Family Medical Center in Kremmling, Katja is unfailingly kind, supportive and Good Neighbors concerned for her patients. She always follows up with her patients, I have even received a follow up call from her at 7:30 in the evening, still at work. Amazingly, she has been completing the Nurse Practitioner program at Childrens Hospital in Denver, and passed her board examinations just last Goodhad Neighbors week. I am recuperating from a major surgery, and a knock on my door at 7:30 this morning — Katja with a delicious homecooked meal for us, even though she is on her way to Denver for her graduation. We are so lucky to have her.”
Mud season is official: Annual ‘yard sale’ arrives this week BY REID ARMSTRONG rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com
TABERNASH — Lines will form at the door before the opening of the Church of Eternal Hills yard sale. A favorite mud season pastime, the yard sale is a fundraiser for several local charities and youth missions. A team of volunteers has spent nearly two months sorting through all the goods, which fill large rooms on two levels of the church. Upstairs, tucked away among the tables of clothes and housewares, is a
bag of solid brass cabinet handles. The 1968 "Ain't it Awful Handbook for Housewives" features quips like, "Every time you find a perfect hairdresser, she gets pregnant and quits," and a complete set of unopened High School Musical party supplies sits awaiting the right buyer. Downstairs, stacks of books include old volumes like "The Story of Philosophy," by Will Durant, Abbot Fay collection, c 1926; and "Tales from the Decameron of Giovanni Doccaccio" by E. Bachstrom c. 1930.
Among the toys, gear and camping equipment, there's an Easy Bake oven, almost new Osprey Helios 20 backpack, a relic red metal Coleman gas lantern with a yellow glass globe, a Polaroid camera, a 10-inch bench saw, a music stand, an American Racer easy steering sled, a cast iron wood stove, size 9 almost new men's Sorrel boots ... You name it. The sale begins at 4 p.m. Friday and continues through 7 p.m.; and begins again Saturday at 9 a.m. with closing set for 2 p.m.
The Church of Eternal Hills annual yard sale begins at 4 p.m. Friday, May 13. Items may be dropped off through Wednesday. REID ARMSTRONG SKY-HI NEWS
2 SKY-HI NEWS || Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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Brain Bowl fundraiser: a full serving of fun East Grand Middle School teacher Abbey Loberg awaits an answer from the Wise Guys of De Antonio’s Pizza & Pasta of Fraser (left) during a Brain Bowl competition Monday night at the school. The eighth grade Brain Bowl team (right) won its regional competition earlier this year and is raising funds to pay for a trip to the nationals in Chicago next month. The Wise Guys gave the youngsters a run for their money, losing the final round by a score of 11-9. Connie Clayton, Todd Hulkster, Debra and Alex Buhayer and Frank Donnadio were the Wise Guys.
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
Correction In the Friday, May 6, issue, the “School panel: Skip sales tax for now” stor y should have made clear that the district’s financial outlook has improved in part due to negotiated health insurance costs between the district and the teachers group “Collaborative Problem Solving Team.” The district had faced a $67,000 increase in health insurance costs, but because teachers agreed to a reduced health insurance package with greater deductibles and copays, the district’s proposed 2011-12 budget now reflects a savings of about $46,000.
➤ WINTER
➤ GRAND
LAKE, FROM PAGE 1
Consideration of a school closure has returned now that the adhoc education committee has decided not to ask taxpayers to support a long-term funding option for schools in November. If Grand Lake Elementary were to close, the district’s projections show, Granby Elementary School could reflect a decrease in the possible cost per-student — by $1,006 below the state per-pupil funding level. This scenario, estimated to save the district a total of about $317,085, could close the district’s projected budget gap of $315,000 for the 2011-’12 school year. And because some teachers are leaving the district, “not a single employee of Grand Lake would lose (his or her) job if we closed the school and moved them now,” Karas said. Another budget scenario shows keeping Grand Lake Elementary school open and cutting one fulltime and one part-time staff member, Karas explained. Grand Lake Elementary would have combined classes for grades K-1, 2-3, and 45, and could upon board approval return to a four-day school week. Karas warned that parents may not want combined classes for
their students. If that’s the case, more parents might lobby the school board to allow students to go to Granby instead Grand Lake Mayor Judy Burke likened that to “raping the Grand Lake school to take them to Granby.”
Education business Grand Lake Trustee Benton Johnson criticized the district for its labor costs, in that over half of t h e d i s t r i c t ’s b u d g e t g o e s t o salaries and benefits. Karas reminded Johnson that the business of education is made up of people, and that the product is knowledge delivered by people. Karas said schools statewide average spending 75 percent to 80 percent of their budgets on salaries and benefits. The superintendent went on to say that East Grand schools perform poorly in one area: That in accordance with population, it funds “more schools than any other district in the state of Colorado.” Both Karas and Sifers reminded town board members that the district’s obligation is to utilize resources prudently to support all
PARK, FROM PAGE 1
mentary School open next year and that the school is not on the chopping block this year (see related story). Additionally, Karas said, taking community funding to "buy" two years for Grand Lake and Fraser elementary schools is not an option she wants to consider. Community funding could help improve programs within the schools, Karas said, and that is something she would support as long as there aren't "strings attached." With all the cuts that have had to happen to make the budget work, the schools have been left with deficiencies in staff, curriculum and materials. "It's not an education you want for your children, definitely not for the long term," Karas said. Some board members were angry that the community was put through all the heartache
these past few months. "We made budget (recommendations) based on absolute fantasy," said board member Jimmy Lahrman, who also sits on the District Accountability Committee. "All this time and effort ... The numbers weren't even close.” "The teachers should be mad as hell,” he added. “We've cut all their resources.” Karas and Sifers spent nearly an hour walking council members through the budget process and recent developments that changed the district's bottom line. "It's not that we were trying to deceive anyone. It's about timing, it's about cuts," Karas said. Karas and Sifers both told the council that they think the school district needs to manage it's fiscal situation from within if it can. "Why should we take your money? If we can manage it ... then let us manage it," Karas said.
1,200 students in the district. Karas asked town officials to understand the district’s budget outlook and to “partner” on the future of the Grand Lake building, if there is a school closure. With its gym and other spaces, the building could remain in use as a community center, the superintendent said. Grand Lake Town Manager Shane Hale pointed out how past district decisions have hurt the viability of the Grand Lake school, such as open enrollment, sending sixth-graders to the middle school, and temporarily sending fifthgraders to Granby. Four to six students from the Grand Lake area are presently “grandfathered in” to attend Granby Elementary School. Johnson, who has three grandchildren attending school in Grand Lake and two in Granby, said “(If ) you close that school down in Grand Lake, it will kill us as a community. People who normally come here with kids to work in our businesses and live in our community no longer will.” “Not to be sarcastic, please don’t take it this way. But why aren’t they here now?” Karas asked. Although Grand Lake still has “tons and tons” to offer young
But, she added, if the community wants to partner with the schools to support certain programs, "that's a better idea." Lahrman asked whether the district was still open to spending 25 percent of its reserves to catch up on some of the other items that have been cut in recent months. "Buying education has a different feel to it than buying a building," Karas said, in support of s p e n d i n g s o m e re s e r v e s t o improve programs. More savings could be found if the district closes Grand Lake Elementary School, which may only have 40-some students next year compared with 270 at Fraser Elementary School. Council member Chris Seemann said, "We just spent four months saying local schools are important to us and now that it's just Grand Lake on the chopping block ... we're good. Is anyone else (uncomfortable with that)?"
Karas pointed out that closing Fraser would have required a program shift for the entire district, including a complete re-alignment of grades. "The last thing I want to do is close a school," she added. A s t h e c o nv e r s a t i o n p ro gressed, Lahrman was still clearly frustrated. "It's difficult for me to have (gathered) all this community support and not hear you want to accept it and work with it," he said. Sifers replied, "I think people are expecting us to be fiducially responsible." Karas encouraged council to consider making a contribution to the Grand Foundation, noting that she feels like there is more opportunity now for the school district to apply for large grants from that organization than ever before. Council members said they plan to stay more actively involved in the school issues now.
families, such as a safe environment and a healthy lifestyle, perhaps Grand Lake needs more job opportunities and more affordable housing for families to thrive, the superintendent suggested. Although Grand Lake has affordable housing policies in place, what purpose do they serve “now that everybody is moving to Granby,” Mayor Judy Burke said. “I feel very strongly, if it closes, the cycle perpetuates, the demographics shift and (the town) becomes a retirement community,” said PTA member Lisa Simpson, a citizen in the audience. PTA president Christina Heil asked district officials in the room not to make a decision on school closure until learning results of state-level initiatives for education. “There’s a lot that could change,” she said. And with the district’s latest change in course, the Grand Lake Town Board was given much to consider. Town board members were not ready to make any decisions about the town’s $20,000 pledge as part of the community’s challenge to keep schools open for the next two years. Tonya Bina can be reached at 970-8873334 ext.19603
"We were all asleep at the wheel when this hit us," said member Katie Riemenschneider. Council member Vince Turner said contributing to the Grand Foundation's education fund would allow the town to test run the Steamboat model "at a much lower voltage ... see how it works." Fraser Town Manager Jeff Durbin, who was also at the Winter Park workshop, invited Karas and Sifers to come to the next Fraser meeting for a similar discussion. Some of Fraser's board members were equally frustrated with the situation when they heard about it last week, he said, but they didn't have all the information and they might be interested in supporting school programs in other ways. T h e u p s h o t o f t h i s e n t i re process, Larhman said, is there is "still an entire county behind improving education in this district."
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 63 || FREE
THIS SIDE OF BERTHOUD
CALENDAR
CD release party planned at Brickhouse 40 on Saturday, May 21
– PAGE 9 –
OPINON
PAGE 5
– PAGE 6-7 –
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WEEKEND
MAY 20, 2011
Row, row, row your boat
Citizens battle for GL school BY TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
GRANBY—The high school auditorium was an appropriate venue for the high drama that took place, May 17, during a five-hour-long East Grand School District board meeting — a meeting centered on the possible budget decision to close Grand Lake Elementary School. Many of the 100-or-so people in attendance wondered how they’d missed a step. Wasn’t there just a successful community-wide effort to save the schools? Why then is Grand Lake a target again? School board member Barbara Ahrens of Grand Lake borrowed the British term “gobsmacked” to explain how she had felt on May 9 during a Grand Lake town board meeting when School Board President Tom Sifers and East Grand Superintendent Nancy Karas reintroduced to town officials the argument for closing down the school. Ahrens said she and Grand Lake Elementary School Principal Phyllis Price hadn’t “had a clue” their colleagues would do that.
Second graders from Grand County elementary schools canoe on Shadow Mountain Reservoir as part of the annual conservation education day on Wednesday in Grand Lake. Students learned about area wildlife, wildland fires, survival skills, the pine beetle and camping from U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management and Colorado State Forest personnel. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
Granby keeps pledge, no strings TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
G R A N B Y — Tow n b o a rd members voted unanimously to donate Granby’s $20,000 pledge for schools — no strings attached. The decision was made after East Grand Schools Superint e n d e n t Na n c y Ka ra s a n d School Board President Tom Sifers addressed the board on May 10, explaining why the district was reluctant to take the
community’s $500,000 in raised funds if the they were attached to a two-year commitment to keep Grand Lake and Fraser schools open. “Do we need your help? Yes we do. Do we need our community to understand and get behind education? Yes we do. Do we have hard decisions to ma k e ? We d o. R e a l l y ha rd ones,” the superintendent said in closing after walking board members through the district’s two-year budget outlook.
The district’s projections reflect an expected $617,000 deficit for the 2013 school year, which includes proposed 201112 budget staff cuts (a total of eight support staff, teachers and directors), no bus replacements, no staff development, no updated teaching texts and learning materials, cuts in athletics and higher fees, and no new library materials. “As a superintendent, I would never recommend we sign on to a 2year commitment when I’m
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looking at this as our future,” Karas told the board. The 2012-13 deficit is calculated by a projected $227,000 i n c re a s e i n c o s t s, s u c h a s expired grant cycles, decreased enrollment, increased PERA costs, equipment maintenance, increases in utilities, and lost revenues, the superintendent explained. If the district opted to update its curriculum and continue with staff development while || GRANBY, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
Not with strings attached The renewed status of school closure followed a three-month effort to raise money for schools in the community. As much as $500,000 was raised to keep schools open — an unprecedented feat in Grand County, many say. “If I were one of the outside funders, or one of the people who sat on the ad hoc committee ... if I were Ron Nelson who spent all that time organizing and talking to people and pulling things together, I’d be mightily offended,” Ahrens said. || GRAND LAKE, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
Reservoir elevations Granby Reservoir: 8,252.35 feet (Spills at 8,279.80 feet) Green Mountain Reservoir: 7,883.89 feet Willow Creek Reservoir: 8,091.97 feet Williams Fork Reservoir: 7,799.65 feet
Buy any carpet or floor now. Then if you move or improve your floor in 10 years YOU’LL SAVE UP TO 50% ON YOUR Next PURCHASE.
SKYHIDAILYNEWS.COM
2 SKY-HI NEWS || Friday, May 20, 2011
Still waters run deep www.skyhidailynews.com 970.887.3334 fax: 970.887.3204 Publisher Matt Sandberg x13100 msandberg@skyhidailynews.com
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
➤ GRAND
Mt. Baldy is reflected in the calm waters of Grand Lake on Wednesday morning.
➤ GRANBY, FROM PAGE 1 keeping schools open, she said, the district could face in the ballpark of a $927,000 deficit in 2012. The superintendent said the district should preserve the freedom to spend reserves as it sees fit, either “on buildings,� or, “on education,� Karas said. Granby Manager Wally Baird
said he understood the superintendent’s hesitancy to saddle the budget with a two-year “schools open� commitment while economic uncertainties linger on the state level. “Your crystal ball isn’t really that clear,� he said. “It concerns me if the district goes into reserves further,� said
LAKE, FROM PAGE 1
A sales tax ballot question to create long-term funding for schools has been postponed due to a struggling local economy. And with recent help from the state, the district’s 2011 budget outlook improved and community members proposed to the school board that the $500,000 be used to “buy� two years — keeping all schools open while various solutions are explored. But the district superintendent advised the school board to not take money with that two-year stipulation. With an unpredictable future, the district needs to protect all budget options, the superintendent said. Some Grand Lake community members blame the district for the school’s declining enrollment. The school has long been a target of closure, and with its tentative future, parents don’t enroll their children there, they say. “The problem is a lousy economy,� Sifers told audience members. The district’s operating budget is shrinking, he said. “We’ve made a lot of efforts and tried to make the Grand Lake school work.� Efforts included a failed attempt at extending Grand Lake’s school week to five days to attract more students. “I think it’s the responsibility of
this board, this community, this superintendent to make sure we look at all sides,� Karas said. District board members must choose, she said, between balancing the budget by closing down the school to invest in education district-wide, or spending $317,000 in reserves to support 49 students in Grand Lake. “It’s hard to justify keeping
Trustee Ken Coatney. “I hate to see a school close, but (the district) needs to protect its reserves as well.� Coatney moved to give the East Grand Education Foundation the town’s $20,000 to be used by the district, removing the proposed “strings attached.� Board members voted unanimously in favor of the motion, knowing the money
Accountability Committee member Jimmy Lahrman advocated for a change in leadership during his impassioned 10-minutes at the podium. “Don’t tell me we’re in a budget crisis and the economy is causing the problem,� he said. “It’s the leadership causing the problem.� “ Yo u r i n t e g r i t y h a s b e e n crushed, your trust has been lost. I’m sorry. I have absolutely no
We don’t want to keep hearing that the sky is falling.That is not vision! That is not leadership! JIMMY LAHRMAN EGSD DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE
open school buildings when we’ve let 48 (staff members) go (in the last three years),� Sifers said.
The problem is leadership “Transparency, I feel, left the building,� said citizen David Heil, a parent in Grand Lake. “ The board should not be treating this situation as a problem that should only be solved on the shoulders of one community.� After calling out the board for perceived conflicts of interest, Winter Park parent and District
BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
confidence in leadership anymore,� he said to Superintendent Karas. Lahrman accused the superintendent of instilling fear in the community. “We don’t want to keep hearing that the sky is falling,� he said. “That’s not vision! That’s not leadership!� Riding on the energy of a standing ovation for Lahrman, Grand Lake Mayor Judy Burke said: “The people of Grand Lake are getting pretty darn tired of being told (they’re) dragging the district down,� she said. The Grand Lake area supplies
the district with 28 percent of its p r o p e r t y t a x e s, t h e m a y o r reminded district officials. Although each student in Grand Lake costs the district about $11,000 — versus about $5,400 if they were to attend Granby Elementary — “We pay that five times over!� Burke said.
Books vs. Buildings After a break, during which board member Gail Delphia got visibly emotional and left the building, Lahrman grilled board members for their philosophies on spending district reserves. While most board members expressed caution yet willingness to spend at least some reserves, Karas said she would recommend spending reserves depending on “how much we spend, dictated by what we spend it on.� The current budget scenario, she said, rests on major cuts that cannot be sustained. The district may be facing an estimated $145,000 shortfall in 2011-12 — if Grand County’s $170,000 forest reserves donation is included in budget calculations. Toward the end of the meeting, Heil expressed frustration that the board was considering closing down a school for a mere $145,000 budget shortfall, compared to a $1 million estimated shortfall district officials thought
would not be reimbursed by a local sales tax initiative in the fall, or otherwise. “Even if they close the school, there are still needs,� said Granby Mayor Jynnifer Pierro. “We donate to nonprofits every year. How is this different?� — Tonya Bina can be reached at 970887-3334 ext.19603.
Next meeting District officials plan to make budget decisions, including a decision about closing Grand Lake Elementary, during a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, May 23, at the East Grand School District Office, 299 County Road 611, Granby. they faced in January. One Grand Lake teacher, Jan Games, said it would be easier to return programs and materials to the school district than it would be to reopen a school after closing it. Meanwhile, another Grand Lake teacher Kari Simmons pleaded for the board to make its decision soon so she would have time to prepare her students for next year. “It’s not an ideal situation,� Simmons said. “But when we’re in hard economic times, it’s hard for everybody. We have to look beyond the building. If (students) have to move to another building, we’re still going to teach,� she said. “We became educators because we love the kids.� Board members postponed making a decision on the school closure until a special meeting set for May 23. — Tonya Bina can be reached at 970887-3334 ext.19603.
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 64 || FREE
CALENDAR – PAGE 5 –
COMING FRIDAY
REAL ESTATE – PAGE 7 –
One family’s service YOUR S OURCE FOR G RAND C OUNT Y, C OLORAD O NEWS || UPDATED DAILY AT SKYHIDAILYNEWS.COM
Flying Heels delays show
MAY 25, 2011
WEDNESDAY
Berggren runs away with 3 more titles
May 28 performance moved to July 3 In light of recent concerns over the Equine Herpes Virus outbreak, the Flying Heels Rodeo Association has postponed the rodeo originally scheduled for May 28 to the Fourth of July weekend. There will be two rodeos that weekend, Saturday, July 2, and Sunday, July 3. The Junior Buckaroo Rodeo will begin at 3 p.m., with the open performance at 7 p.m. each night. A fireworks display will follow the open rodeo on July 2. Each rodeo will also include special performances by the ever popular Westernaires. For general information about the rodeos, call the Granby Chamber of Commerce, 970-887-2311. For entry information, call 970-531-5274 or visit www.granbyrodeo.com.
Real life-savers Todd Warning of Hot Sulphur Springs writes: “I would like to thank Winter Good Neighbors Park Ski Patrol and Emergency Services for their response on Easter of this year. I suffered a heart attack at the base of the resort and because of their actions I am alive today.Good They did Neighbors everything to keep me alive and because of their actions this 39-year-old is recovering from two blockages. Again Thank you all for saving my life.”
Good Neighbors
Good Neighbors
Middle Park’s Samantha Berggren leads the field to the finish line on her way to winning her fourth-straight 3A girls 400-meter dash at the Colorado State High School Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood. Berggren also won the 800 and 1600-meter events, bringing her total number of state track titles for her career to nine. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS
GL Elementary will close E. Grand board votes 4-2 to shutter school
Principal breaks news to students as teachers, community react TONYA BINA tbina@skyhidailynews.com
Tonya Bina tbina@skyhidailynews.com The East Grand Board of Education voted 4-2 Monday night to close Grand Lake Elementary School as a budget-slashing measure despite impassioned pleas to keep the 32-year-old school open. Board member Barbara Ahrens of the Grand Lake area and board member Joan Evans of the Fraser Valley area cast the dissenting votes. Two members of the board who cast votes to close the school were accused of having conflicts of interest for being district employees — Hot Sulphur Springs representative Mike
Grand Lake Elementary Principal Phyllis Price talks to students at the beginning of school on Tuesday morning regarding the decision to close the school at the end of the current school year. BYRON HETZLER/SKY-HI NEWS Thompson and Granby representative Melissa Quinn. Thompson made the motion to close the school and Quinn seconded the motion. Thompson is employed as a bus mechanic in the transportation department. His salary is
partially paid for through the school’s mill levy-supported transportation fund, and Quinn is employed as a computer technician. Both were elected in November of 2007 and ran unopposed. When Quinn was elected, she
GR AND L AKE — A “We (heart) our school” banner still hung over the main entrance on Tuesday morning when students learned Principal Phyllis Price had important news for them. Dressed in casual jeans for Field Day activities later that day, the principal sat on the stage in front of the children, gathered on was not yet an East Grand School District employee, according to District officials. School Board President Tom Sifers said officials checked with the district’s attorney and were told voting on this particular budget item was not a conflict of interest. Sifers added that it did-
the gymnasium floor. A few parents and teachers stood in the back of the room. Price gently spoke. Remember all the talk you’d been hearing about Grand Lake Elementary? she began. Students then learned they would not be returning to their school after the summer break. Grand Lake Elementary would be closed. || REACT, PAGE 3 ➤ ||
n’t mean the board shouldn’t review the policy for the future. Mike Periolat, a Winter Park Town Council member, brought the perceived conflict-of-interest issue to the forefront before votes were cast to close the school. After Periolat had said his || CLOSE, PAGE 2 ➤ ||
2 SKY-HI NEWS || Wednesday, May 25, 2011
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Middle Park champions
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LEFT: Middle Park's Sam Little reacts after crossing the finish line and winning the 3A boys 300-meter hurdles at the Colorado State High School Track & Field Championships on Saturday in Lakewood. Little also won the 110-meter high hurdles earlier in the day.
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BELOW: Middle Park’s Quincey Pedersen grazes the bar while attempting to clear 5-5 during the 3A girls high jump at the championships on Friday in Lakewood. Pedersen won the event by clearing 5-3.
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CORRECTIONS The Sky-Hi Daily News strives for accuracy, but we occasionally make mistakes. Please call editor Drew Munro if you spot a factual error: (970) 887-3334 ext. 19100 or send an e-mail to dmunro@skyhidailynews.com. When corrections or clarifications are necessary, they will appear on this page. The Sky-Hi News is published at 424 E. Agate Ave., Granby, CO 80446, Wednesday and Friday by Colorado Mountain News Media.
Colorado State High School Track & Field Championships Jefferson County Stadium, Lakewood, May 19-21
Grand County results 2A Boys pole vault: 8. Logan Cummings, West Grand, 12-0; 9. Travis Gore, West Grand, 11-6 2A Boys team score: 36. West Grand, 3 points 3A Boys 400-meter dash: 5. Michael Sobon, Middle Park, 51.13 3A Boys 110-meter hurdles: 1. Sam Little, Middle Park, 15.11 3A Boys 300-meter hurdles: 1. Sam Little, Middle Park, 39.15 3A Boys 4x200 relay: 7. Middle Park (Lutz, Southway, Little, Sobon), 1:32.87 3A Boys 4x400 relay: 5. Middle Park (Little, Blahnik, Lutz, Sobon), 3:31.97 3A Boys pole vault: 7. Marc Schmidt, Middle Park, 10-6; 9. Skyler Anderson, Middle Park, 10-6 3A Boys team score: 7. Middle
➤ CLOSE, FROM PAGE 1 piece, district teacher and coach Christine DuBois-Miller reminded all in the packed boardroom that it was the voters themselves who elected the board members. “This does affect, in the long run, your salaries,” Evans said, addressing both Thompson and Quinn.
The decision “We’ve been jerking Grand Lake around,” Evans said. And Ahrens said she felt the district owed Grand Lake another year to absorb the news the school would be closed. In light of the “tremendous outpouring” of community support the district received to keep schools open, Ahrens said, “A little under three weeks ago, I think we broke faith with the community ... And if we’re going to close a school, for God’s sake, give them a year’s warning. Not 10 days.” “I’m here for the other side of the community,” said Thompson, the side of the community that advocates “keeping our reserves intact.” Thompson said he’d heard from Grand Lake parents who don’t want to be forced to enroll students in Grand Lake when the parents work in Granby, and who don’t want to enroll students in a
Park, 37 points 3A Girls 200-meter dash: 4. Samantha Berggren, Middle Park, 25.94 3A Girls 400-meter dash: 1. Samantha Berggren, Middle Park, 56.36 3A Girls 800-meter run: 1. Samantha Berggren, Middle Park, 2:11.63 3A Girls 1600-meter run: 1. Samantha Berggren, Middle Park, 5:08.70 3A Girls 100-meter hurdles: 8. Cheyenne Hickox, Middle Park, 16.98 3A Girls high jump: 1. Quincey Pedersen, Middle Park, 5-3 3A Girls pole vault: 2. Katy Mulligan, Middle Park, 9-6; 9. Meghan Allen, Middle Park, 7-6 3A Girls triple jump: 7. Quincey Pedersen, Middle Park, 34-06 3/4 3A Girls team score: 4. Middle Park, 60.5 points
school that has shared grade levels in classrooms. “Do the needs of a few outweigh the needs of many?” Quinn asked, advocating spending district resources on education district-wide. Board member Gale Delphia seemed uncertain about how she would vote. At first it appeared she would vote for closure, then when she spoke again, it seemed she might be on the side of Ahrens. “Barb struck a chord with me,” Delphia said. “I believe the responsible thing to do is close the school, but I personally have a problem with doing it at such a late date. If that school closes, it is going to be a loss to the community, staff, teachers and primarily kids,” she said. District Superintendent Nancy Karas encouraged Grand Lake community members to continue seeking ways to re open the school. “Closing a building for one year is not going to make it where you can’t reopen,” she said. “But mentally, it would be hard for the students to go back there,” Evans said. The decision to close Grand L a k e E l e m e nt a r y re f l e c t s a $231,308 savings to the district’s 2011-12 budget, now that the district’s May 17 draft budget reflects certain expenses added back in, such as computer supplies and teacher development costs. The
Principals leaving East Grand District Two principals and an assistant principal are leaving East Grand Schools at the end of the school year. Husband and wife Jeff and Andrea Verosky, principals of East Grand Middle School and Granby Elementary respectively, are moving to Riverton,Wyo., where Andrea has taken a job at an elementary school. Concurrently, Jeff said he is “interviewing for several principal positions in the area.” Middle Park High School Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Brandon Thurston has accepted the assistant principal position at Polson High School in Polson, Mont. Each of the principals said their reason for leaving is mainly “financial,” and is not intended to reflect disagreement with the district’s current direction. “I support the mission of the school district and the direction it’s moving,” Thurston said. “It’s truly putting kids first.” Jeff Verosky said he and his wife are “100 percent behind the administration and the board,” adding he and Andrea have “enjoyed our time here and love the community and staff.” The East Grand School District Board approved the hiring of Thurston’s replacement on Monday: Todd Bittner, who has served as West Grand High School’s principal for less than a year, is Middle Park High School’s new assistant principal and athletic director. projected deficit on the draft $10.6 million operating budget, with closure of the Grand Lake school, now sits at $104,800.
Athletics, activities To try and reach a goal of offsetting $35,000 in the athletics and activities budget, district officials voted to cut two programs from next year’s high school sports offerings: girls softball and boys golf. Before the vote, volunteer softball coach P.J. Holmes refuted information supplied by the District Accountability Committee
that participation in girls softball was in jeopardy, saying at least 15 girls have showed interest. He also said softball supporters were willing to fundraise for the sport, and that he was willing to volunteer or even donate his salary. But Middle Park High School Principal Jane Harmon said the precedent set by having coaches donate salaries back would be unsustainable. “It’s unfair as a district to say we want coaches to do that,” she said. Board members voted to eliminate softball despite some audience members suggesting the dis-
trict would lose students as a result. Board member Evans cast the sole dissenting vote. Meanwhile, no one spoke for or against eliminating the boys golf program, which was recently added to school cuts to optimize the district’s Title 9 compliance and for the need to meet budgetary goals. In a separate vote, board members chose to not increase the district’s $70 materials fee, but did increase the athletics fees by 25 percent, to $120 per athlete. Family athletic fees will be paid on a sliding scale, board members decided.
Teacher compensation The board unanimously chose to freeze teacher salaries for the third consecutive year. But the decision to freeze salaries for other district employees was tabled because the board did not have the necessary quorum to make a decision. Board members Quinn and Thompson abstained from the vote because they are district e m p l oy e e s. B o a rd m e m b e r Ahrens had left the building after the vote to close Grand Lake Elementary School, leaving the board without a quorum. Asked the next day why she had left before board business had been completed, Ahrens twice declined to comment.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 || SKY-HI NEWS
Contact Sky-Hi News at (970) 887-3334
Blues in the Schools heats up Several classes will see shows on Thursday The Grand County Blues Society’s Blues In The Schools (BITS) program will be heating things up with the coolness of the blues in three Grand County schools with different blues artists on Thursday, May 26. The schools include Indian Peaks Charter School, Fraser and Granby Elementary School. “We are very excited to have a full day of blues in a handful of schools in one day,” says Maria Chavez, director of Blues In The Schools. “I feel the power of blues music travels with the kids throughout their life. Kids recognize the style of music when they hear it on the radio and know how to relate to the blues when they get the 'homework blues'.” 2010 Blues Challengers (IBC) Big Jim Adam & John Stilwagen will be at Indian Peaks Charter School in the morning and Fraser Elementary School in the afternoon. These two assemblies will enlighten the students of sound of the blues and its instruments. Big Jim will capture the attention of the students with his sliding swampy guitar and big voice while John
➤ REACT, FROM PAGE 1 One student opened her mouth in shock. She gave a sideways glance at her friend sitting beside her. Price explained to the kindergarten through fifth-graders that the school board had made its decision the night before. They had decided for the benefit of all students in all East Grand schools. “But I want you to know,” the principal said, “it’s a sad time, but it’s also a happy time. All of our friends are going to go with us to our new school. Some of our teachers are going to Granby with us.” One boy in the front row bragged he went to the Granby school back in first grade. “It’s a lovely school,” Price said of Granby Elementary. “It’s a very nice school.” Price added that although they would be attending school in Granby, their Grand Lake “playground will still be here. You can still come here and play. But the school won’t have classes and teachers.” Price planned to escort the students to Granby the next day to introduce to them their new school. Yet for now, they would enjoy the Field Day planned for them, followed by a lunchtime barbecue. They had four days left to enjoy their neighborhood school, which ends its school calendar on Friday. “We’re going to have a good day today,” Price told them. “Tomorrow we’re going to have a good day. “Every day is a good day at Grand Lake Elementary.”
Difficult parting “I was OK until I saw the parents, teary-eyed,” said kindergarten teacher Jan Gamez, choking back her own feelings about her school. Gamez, who has taught elementary students for 34 years, is about to end her 15th year at Grand Lake Elementary School. Although it may be sad news for some students, she said, adults can really learn from their resilient nature. Already her kindergartners had moved on to thoughts about popsicle-stick structures they were making as gifts for Father’s Day. During their morning Show and Tell, “Miss G” asked her class about what to expect next year. She boasted of her stu-
will show them his spicy expertise on the accordion. Another GCBS favorite blues educator and IBC challenger, Dan Treanor, will be demonstrating the blues to small groups of students throughout the day in 20 minute rotations at Granby Elementary School. Dan will not only showcase his trusty harmonica and homemade African guitars, but will also present a wealth of knowledge about the history of the blues. “It's always so moving to watch the kid's faces light up and their bodies wiggle when they hear the mountain of sound,” says Chavez. “We hope that the appreciation of blues music resonates in students and perhaps reaches someone that becomes a musician themselves.” As a reminder, the purpose of the BITS program is to keep blues alive in Grand County and educate students about this important American art form. As a 501 (c)3 non-profit, the program is funded by grants and donations. Special thank you to the Grand County commissioners for believing in keeping the blues alive and funding the BITS program. Anyone who would like to donate to the program should contact Chavez at 303921-3316 or visit www.grandblues.org. dents’ readiness in reading and math, even in playing chess. They were wellequipped for first grade at Granby, she said. “We might make science experiments,” kindergartner Tyler offered. “I heard they have a special science teacher there,” Gamez responded positively. “And so you will have that science teacher. Does that sound cool?” They all nodded their heads in agreement.
Town pride “I’ve never been more proud of Grand Lake for the way (people) presented themselves,” Gamez later said of the effort town leaders, parents and other Grand Lake supporters put forth in trying to save the school. “I really believe that we held our heads up high through this whole process,” she said. The building of eight classrooms, a computer room, a library, a gymnasium, faculty quarters and a music room was built in 1979 for up to 120 students, but it has never reached that capacity. Three years ago, $171,000 in improvements were made through the interest gained on a district-wide bond. New carpet, new boilers, a new fire alarm system, a newly painted gym, new benches and playground equipment were installed. Despite those improvements along with other changes to make the school more appealing to prospective families, enrollment continued to decline. Projections now show that Grand Lake might have just 43 students next year, Price said. “I’m sad,” the principal said, after Tuesday night’s school board decision. “But I realize with declining enrollment and the situation of the school budget, the board had tough decisions to make. And that’s what they were elected for.” She, like Gamez and other staff members of Grand Lake, remained unsure what the future holds for them personally. “Right now, I want to concentrate on making the transition smooth for our children,” Price said. “And to make them understand they will still be loved and cared for at Granby Elementary.” Tonya Bina can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19603
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SERIES 2011
Grading • Paving • Patching • Maintenance WE ARE SCHEDULING PAVING AND GRADING PROJECTS IN YOUR AREA THIS SUMMER. SERVING SUMMIT AND GRAND COUNTIES SINCE 2003. For FREE estimates, budgets or advice on any asphalt or grading work, commercial or residential, please contact
Brian at 303-356-6894 or by email: brian@newwestpaving.com Jim at 303-356-3358 or by email: jim@newwestpaving.com
West Grand School District is accepting sealed bids for: 1988 Dodge Dakota Pick-Up 4X4. Minimum $500 1980 Ford Diesel Tractor 4X4 with bucket loader, sweeper, roto-tiller, post hole digger, groomer mower attachments. Minimum $3,000 1990 Utility Trailer 12X6 single axle. Minimum $200 Items avail. for inspection at 306 12th St. at bus barn. Call for appt. at 724-3747. Sealed bid packets available at West Grand District Office at 715 Kinsey Ave, Kremmling. Sealed bids will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. Tues., June 6, 2011. Bids will be opened June 7, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. Successful bidders must pay cash or certifiable funds on or before June 13, 2011.
IMYSA
2011 Soccer Season
Registration for the fall season opened May 9 th Register early to reduce costs. Please visit:
https://secure.AdminSports.net/granbycosoccer LOG IN OR CREATE A NEW REGISTRATION
EARLY REGISTRATION :
MAY 9th - JUNE 11th REGULAR REGISTRATION : J UNE 12 th - J ULY 9 th LATE REGISTRATION : J ULY 10 th - J ULY 31 st
Final registration for the fall season will end on Sunday, July 31 th. Practices begin the week of August 15 th.
Advance team tryouts for Girls age 11 thru 17 and Boys age 10 thru 13 (age by 7/31/11) will be held the weekend of June 3-5. Specifics of day and time of individual team tryouts to come. No registration necessary until after tryouts. IMYSA is looking for people interested in coaching soccer at this advanced level. Coaches should have extensive experience coaching soccer (state licenses preferred). Extensive experience coaching soccer and any background playing soccer are an advantage. For questions or to discuss volunteering with IMYSA, please contact Mark Blahnik at: lakota_106@yahoo.com or 531-2872.
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