All posts by sentineladmin

2023, Uncategorized

Foster, McCarthy and Kriegh Win School Board Seats

Foster, McCarthy and Kriegh Win
School Board Seats
Props HH Goes Down in Flames

George Gramlich,
News and Commentary

These are the unofficial results of the November 7 Election. Based on the numbers don’t expect any changes. The Custer County School District C-1 Board of Directors – At Large election went down as expected with the three front runners easily outpacing the losing two. Regina “Reggie” Foster got the top vote count with 1,265 votes followed by Joseph McCarthy with 1,217 votes. The final winner, Jennifer Kriegh received 1,031 nods. Losers Linda Elaine Brown got 503 votes and Jeremy Hockett nailed 353 votes.
The dems nightmare tax grab, Proposition HH got hammered in Happy Valley with 1,987 (77.08%) voting to kill it and 591 (29.92%) insane people voting for it. It lost statewide too.
Proposition II also lost in Custer County with 1,356 (52.79%) voting against It and 1,217 (47.30%) voting for it. It passed at the state level.
Voter turnout in Custer County was pretty good for an off year election with 2,600 ballots cast with a voter roll of 4,460. (That would be a 58.3% turnout.) The statewide voter turnout was a pathetic 36.64% (1,441,848 ballots cast and 3,935,515 active voters). It looks like Happy Valley citizens are engaged politically.
At the state level, Proposition HH lost decisively with 856,182 voting against it and 566,663 voting for it.
With regards to Proposition II (which will funnel more money into the state’s dysfunctional education system), it passed big time with 946,617 saying yes and 471,522 voting against it.

2023, Uncategorized

Custer County GOP Chair Decision

Republican Committee Showdown!
Old Guard vs. The Citizens
PCP Ann Barthrop Saves the Day!

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
Gary Cooper’s performance in “High Noon” can’t compare to the showdown that happened last Thursday, October 26, 2023 at the Custer County Republican Central Committee’s (CCRCC) meeting at the Courthouse. The election contest for the Chair position of the CCRCC was the subject matter of the meeting and it took almost three hours to decide the winner. And that only happened because one person delivered a surprise knockout shot to the Old Guard that changed the game completely. Continue reading Custer County GOP Chair Decision →

2023, BOCC, Uncategorized

BOCC: Concerned Citizens Group Reveal Their Findings on CM and Audit

BOCC: Concerned Citizens Group
Reveal Their Findings  On County Manager Debacle and the Audit

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary

The October 18, 2023 Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting took place at the Wetmore Com-munity Center and started at 9:02 a.m. All three commissioners were in attendance: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp.

In Commissioner Items, Canda has been working with TV station KRDO about our two broken translators. Canda said KRDO engineers are working on a plan. The translators will cost the county $13k each.

Day’s three-minute comment limitation rule then came up. Canda brought it up saying that the speakers were often cut off before they fully delivered their points. He said, “I want to understand the comments fully.” Day said he unilaterally established the rule as “meetings were getting out of hand” and “If you can’t speak your piece in three minutes you should trim it down.” Day then said, “ I won’t support that.” (i.e., getting rid of the three-minute limitation.) Continue reading BOCC: Concerned Citizens Group Reveal Their Findings on CM and Audit →

2023, Uncategorized

Liberty Rocks Hosts CCSD-1 School Board Candidates

 

by Fred Hernandez
That this event was considered of paramount importance to most of the community was clearly evident in the sell out audience that came to hear the six candidates vying for a seat on the Custer County School District board. It was close to eighty friends and neighbors in a “standing-room-only” attendance on Thursday evening, October 19th, at Tony’s Mountain Pizza when Chairwoman Ann Barthrop called the meeting to order a little after the six o’clock hour, immediately after the standard Pledge of Allegiance and group singing America
Dr. Ann Willson did her familiar invocation quoting, from the book “Prayers and Presidents”. This time she quoted President Warren G. Harding from his speech during American Education Week Proclamation on November 20, 1922.
“Without a vision the people perish ( from Pr. 29:18). Without education, there can be little vision. Of education it is said that ‘It is twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes’. It will be greatly worth the effort if, as an incident to the observance of Education Week, we can impress this thought upon the young manhood and womanhood of the nation and redirect their interest and patriotic zeal to the idea of making a proper contribution to educational work. The strength and security of the nation will always rest in the intelligent body of its people. Civic organizations and religious bodies may render special service by their cooperation; and particularly it is recommended that parents enlist themselves in behalf of closer understanding between school and home.”
Sage words indeed and a most appropriate quotation for the evening’s program.


Chairwoman Ann then briefly announced that the BOCC had arranged for speakers to do a presentation at Lange Hall on Proposition HH on Friday, October 20th.
In the interest of space and time, the over two hours meeting has
been edited to feature the salient points made by individual candidates and to capture the essence of their core beliefs. The order in which the candidates were called was picked randomly.

First up was Daniel Gasper, currently Shop Manager at Custer County Road and Bridge who apologized for not being a public speaker but shared his passion for the importance of maintaining a high standard for the school’s performance.

The next was Ms. Erin McCarthy, daughter of candidate Joseph McCarthy who regrettably but unavoidably had to go out of town. Erin is the mother of four children two of whom go to the local school. She read a letter penned by her father who expressed his sadness at some of the problems besetting the school and what steps needed to be taken going forward in order to address them in a positive manner. (The letter is on page 3 of this week’s issue.)
Third candidate was Regina “Reggie” Foster who gave a brief background of her experiences, in particular communications and team building, which she would apply if elected to the board.
The next candidate to introduce himself was Jeremy Hockett who cited his experience and training while he was in the U.S. Navy for over a decade where he learned to be an instructor and thus able to offer that training and experience.
Dr. Linda Brown, the write-in candidate, has a doctorate degree, a masters degree and has been a teacher, home school teacher, school founder and has given presentations in Oxford and Barcelona. She is a national trainer at the Northwest Evaluation Association which provides training for trainers and traveled throughout the country teaching trainers. This organization provides data on specific tests for each state which is an important tool that shows where there may be “holes” in the curriculum and thus making it possible to adjust the curriculum in a timely manner for the benefit of the students.
The sixth candidate Jennifer Kriegh is an active parent and currently a volunteer at the school. She spoke eloquently about the need for a school board member to be a good listener to the teachers, the students and, equally important, the parents. Moreover, she goes on, board members have to be accessible at all times and totally transparent most especially when it comes to the budget.
Chairwoman Barthrop then went to the questions starting with; How many board of education meetings have you attended and what motivated you to run? Both candidates Foster and Kriegh said they could count on one hand the board meetings they missed indicating that they attended the majority of meetings and they are motivated to run for the sake of their children’s good education which to them is of great importance. The next question was, “What are the three educational priorities that in a perfect world you would try to achieve and how will you achieve these?”
Candidate Gasper for his part sees how the school is changing due to politics and he wants to keep politics out of the school, retain the rural values of this community and improve communications and transparency. Candidate Foster stated that the school has wonderful teachers but they lack the tools to do the best job. She went on to say that teachers need to be heard when they express their needs and there is an urgent need to address the problem of teacher retention. Jeremy Hockett in his turn asked why prayer is not allowed in school when other agendas are tolerated? He spoke of the aging community and the need to make it attractive for younger residents with children to move into the county.
What was most evident through-out the give and take between candidates and Chairwoman Ann, who served as moderator, were
the following: the candidates were all in agreement that transparency is seriously lacking and needs to be improved. Another issue that needs immediate improvement is communications between the board and teachers, staff members and parents. There is also the issue of the lack of accountability which all the candidates agree needs to be addressed as a priority.
After a brief break, the audience was invited to address the candidates who were sitting side by side on the dais. Most noteworthy was the question raised by resident Mr. Len Arrigo who stated that he had heard a lot of rhetoric but nothing about the truly important concerns that the public have such as: parental rights, boys in girls sports, transgenderism, legalization of marijuana. Once again all the candidates were in almost perfect sync. Everyone agreed that parents have the ultimate right to teach their children according to their values and the values which the community holds dear. All candidates oppose [catering to] transgenderism and agree that as a general rule boys should not be allowed to play in girls sports.
From the more than two hour discourse one could conclude that this crop of candidates for the next school board are passionately committed to improve the overall performance of the school in general and of every child in particular. Everyone of the candidates individually brings their unique talents and qualifications to the contest. It will be challenging for the voting public to make the decision to choose the best combination of three members for the new board. We wish all candidates the best in their campaign.

 

2023, Uncategorized

Fremont County School Board Candidates

 

Thomas Wenzl  click here. This will take you to the Fremont Crusader Newspaper’s interview.  Or read Below.

Graceann Pittner click here. This will take you to the Fremont Crusader Newspaper. Or read Below.

Matthew Alexander click here. This will take you to the Fremont Crusader Newspaper. Or read Below.

————————

Thomas Wenzl, School Board Candidate for Cañon City RE-1

It is very important that a school board functions intentionally to strike a balance between the interests of the school district and the interests, and dialog with, the parents, grandparents and community that elected them. The school board works for its electors. The school board is a checks and balance between the two bodies to maintain fairness for all, even while adhering to any legal requirements. It would be incredibly useful to create opportunities for school board members, and other school administrators to meet informally with parents, and community members throughout the school year to dialogue with one another; feeling heard and understood.

The school board, by its own policies, makes a commitment to ‘reflect the values of the community.’ This should apply to curriculum, financial and policy related values. In these areas, the buck stops with the school board directors.

In terms of everything taught; be it lesson plans, programs or surveys, the school board is terminally responsible for all this content. Yet many parents don’t have access to much of this content, and therefore, the lack of transparency of the things taught, leaves parents wondering if it indeed reflects their family values. Controversial topics, restorative justice practices, and material driven by Social Emotional Learning (SEL), or diversity, equity and inclusion(DEI) should be reviewable and/or approvable by parents before being taught.

Financial records are also an area of interest to the community. The school district pays a lot of entities which go by a set of acronyms. As a taxpayer myself, I’m concerned as to how tax dollars are being spent, what is the school district getting for their dollars? Does the curriculum or programming make the students better educated in things like math, reading, science, chemistry or history? Are the outcomes for this educational content, paid for by the school district, measurable? Does the content reflect the family values of the parents and community? Considering the buzz words above; SEL, DEI, which the school district teaches, and because the merit of these movements is controversial in society, understanding where, and why the money is spent toward these areas is important to parents and the community.

In terms of policies, the school district generally does a fine job of meeting legal obligations. There are a couple of policies that have caught my attention, however. In the revised Mission Statement, the school district has placed, once again, an emphasis on social-emotional needs, while saying almost nothing about academic achievement.

Essentially, the measures of success are unmeasurable attributes. In an educational institution, academic achievement should take prominence. Another policy that got a lot of attention from parents and the community, was what became the transgender guidelines. The school board determined that, upon its publication, the legal requirements had been met. But what about the students in the locker rooms who are uncomfortable, traumatized or fearful, having to share those private spaces? Until students, parents and school employees all feel that a mutually acceptable environment is created, and everyone feels safe, the work is not finished!

While the school district rightfully takes pride in highlighting the accomplishments and opportunities of the graduates who have pursued trade fields and taken advantage of the dual college enrollment options, it’s important to remember that attaining a solid foundation in core academic skills, including mathematics, reading and writing at grade-appropriate levels, is equally important. By equipping students with these essential skills, we empower them to thrive in various aspects of life, preventing any form of limitation on their future opportunities. Job preparation is highly valuable, but the more math, reading and writing that a student learns, the more opportunities they will have in the future.

Thomas grew up on a farm and learned responsibilities at a young age. Thomas and his wife Carol have seven children and seven grandchildren. Together they served as the Friday night cooks at the local homeless shelter, Loaves & Fishes for seven years, and were foster parents, providing a safe home for 31 needy children. Two of which they gave a forever home through adoption. Thomas has lived in Cañon City since 1995.

——————

Graceann Pittner, School Board Candidate for Cañon City RE-1

There are terrific things happening in our school district: alternative vocational/technical programs, dual credit college programs and the Multi-District Initiative by which students have access to specialized programs in RE-1, RE-2 and RE-3. We want to build on these programs to offer our students many different pathways to a successful future. However, to say everything is great, is to ignore the areas that need improvement. We can celebrate all the wonderful things about our students, teachers, and schools and work to improve things at the same time. We realize if we fail to provide a strong foundation of reading, writing, math and basic learning skills, if we fail to raise the bar of expectations, and if we fail to give students the tools to meet challenges, then we are failing our students.

I am running for the school board in answer to a call from community members who have an interest in being involved with their local schools to make important decisions and have their voices heard. Parents want to be allowed to raise their children according to their own values and want schools to concentrate on simply educating them. The school board serves as the bridge between the community and the schools by providing oversight and direction. They have the specific duties of developing responsible policies, overseeing the educational planning, staffing, financial resources, and facilities that will ensure the educational welfare of all Cañon City students, and “providing adequate and direct means for keeping the local citizenry informed about the schools and for keeping itself informed about the wishes of the public.” It is this last point, a direct quote from our RE-1 Board Policy BBA that highlights the greatest contrast between the ‘We the Parents’ candidates and the others.

You deserve absolute transparency regarding the education of your children. You have the right to advocate for policies and curriculum that will benefit your children. I am concerned about the amount of money that is spent purchasing initiatives that offer ‘solutions’ to deal with social emotional learning, bullying and mental health, many of which have built-in, preconceived ideologies that are in direct opposition to the beliefs and values of many of the parents and families in our community. I believe we would be better served to work with our school counselors, psychologists, teachers and parents to create long-term systems to help deal with the rising number of students who are struggling in school. We have talented, caring people right here in our district who have the institutional knowledge to rebuild programs that disappeared when funds dried up after the 2008-09 recession, programs such as Garden Park High School and the Bridges program at CCMS. There are different ways to deliver education to our children that will help them thrive. I agree with Madeline Hunter (acclaimed educator) when she said, “Expecting all children the same age to learn from the same materials is like expecting all children the same age to wear the same size clothing.”

Because of my business background (banking, real estate, and small business), and my 40+ years working with children (22 years teaching) in five different school districts in three different states, I have seen successful ways to deal with the problems we are currently experiencing. Do I have all the answers – no – but I have the experience and commitment to work with those in our school community who can and will work toward positive solutions.

——————-

 Matt Alexander     School Board Candidate for Cañon City RE-1

Every parent’s desire is that our children will have a better life than we did. That they will reach new levels of success, be smarter and have a better education. That is why I, Matthew Alexander, chose to run for the Canon City School Board. I am a fourth generation native of Colorado and founder of Moon Rock Landscaping. Prior to that I have worked both in blue-collar and white-collar fields. I have served in ministry in inner city Chicago working with both youth and adults in underserved communities. A resident in Cañon since 2006, I have served the community from being a youth pastor to a Rec Sports coach, chairman for the Head Start Policy Council and happily served on board of the CCHS Band Boosters. As a business owner, entrepreneur and a parent of three kids, two having graduated Cañon City Public Schools and one currently a sophomore in High School, I am poised to offer sensible parental representation on the school board.

It is essential to understand that our education system has been on the decline locally and nationally for some time now. Liberals have had the majority of control in public education for a long time and we are seeing the results of a failed liberal education. It is time to get back to a fundamental education that is not tied to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the negative parts of Social Emotional Learning, Critical Race Theory, Comprehensive Sex Education or attempts to show a left leaning bias in the classroom or curriculum.

My opponents would have you believe that I am bringing some ideas that are going to “turn classrooms into political battlefields.” That they are listening to parents and are better suited to work with administration and staff. That they are going to keep politics out of the classroom. These are the very things that I have been talking about, not at the finish line to garner votes, but from the beginning of my campaign.

I have been talking to the community, teachers, parents, students. I know what people are saying. They want fewer excuses and better results. I recently sat listening to a school board work session as they discussed CMAS testing results and SAT scores in Cañon City, as group after group showed continued decline, no questions were asked. As it was discussed in a certain elementary school, that third grade students were 1/2 a grade level behind in reading, fourth graders 3/4 grade level behind. Fifth graders were a full grade level behind, again not one single board member asked why or asked what was being done to fix this or even discussed ideas for bettering our system. As a businessman, I plan and analyze how to improve work performance, better customer service, employee relations and more. The school board should be doing the exact same thing. Working with teachers and administration to make sure that the education is improving and not settling for the status quo.

When elected by the community as the right choice for Students, Parents, Teachers and community members, I promise I will work harder than anyone else to better our education system. When my opponents say we will keep politics out of schools, what they are truly saying is we will keep conservative politics out of schools. I will keep ALL political indoctrination out. I ran for YOU, the parents, to have control over what your kids are reading and what they are being taught. I ran for YOU, the parents, to have the control over your children’s beliefs in religion, politics, mental health, physical health, gender or sexuality decisions. These are all private matters and should be between you, your kids, counselors, ministers and family. It is not the school’s responsibility to be involved in these matters. Let’s get back to letting teachers teach and letting kids learn.

 

2023, Uncategorized

Lib Insiders in Custer County Republican Committee Attempt Coup

Custer County Republican
Committee Clown Show

Lib Insiders Attempt a Coup, Possible
Fraudulent Elector

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
Sangre de Cristo Sentinel

Frankly folks, this is almost beyond belief: There is a large group of Republican elected officials, and a few other voting members of the Custer County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) trying to fill the empty CCRCC Chair position with a person who is not only not qualified for the job, only registered as a Republican this year, has troubling emotional/stability  issues, has been arrested for Domestic Violence but also has actively campaigned against  conservative Republican candidate running for county office! So what is going on?

The former Chair of the CCRCC, Jordan Benson, abruptly resigned a few weeks ago giving no reason at all and no warning. (Showing no leadership, loyalty, or commitment at all. His term as Chair was a weak show.) Thus, the Chair position was then open.

The Vice Chair of the CCRCC, Chuck Steigerwalt, then called a CCRCC special meeting to elect a new chair. This meeting occurred on Thursday, October 12th in the County Courtroom, at 6 p.m.

Prior to that, Jack Canterbury , ex-CCRCC Chair, informed CCRCC Precinct Committee Person, (PCP), Ann Barthrop, that Steigerwalt  was proposing the editor of the lefty Wet Mountain Tribune newspaper, Jordy Hedberg as the new Chair! (Canterbury is also running for the Chair seat. He has been the only CCRCC Chair in recent memory that was effective.) We will get into this in a minute, but the least qualified person in the entire county to run the CCRCC is Hedberg. Steigerwalt proposing this sent immediate shock waves through Republicans in the county.

The “shockwaves” succeeded in absolutely packing the courtroom on October 12th with an estimated 70 citizens attending. The vast majority of whom were there to protest and prevent Hedberg from getting the job.

Also attending the meeting was  District 60 Colorado State House Representative, Stephanie Luck.

As reported to the Sentinel, after the Pledge of Allegiance, Steigerwalt skipped the second Agenda Item, the Invocation/Opening Prayer and went on to  the third Agenda Item. (This might be a clue on where the RINO’s want to take our local party.) Ms. Luck requested that she lead the prayer which she did.  Every person in the audience bowed their heads, save one. That person was Jordy Hedberg, busy shuffling papers ignoring the people’s prayer to God. (Remember that folks. It shows where his core values are.)

After some housekeeping business, Steigerwalt made a stunning announcement that he wanted Sheron Berry, a Republican member of the 11th District Judicial Vacancy Committee (JD-11) and NOT a voting member of the CCRCC, to be allowed to vote as she was a “Republican elected official.” This has NEVER been done before. EVER. The JD-11 is a multi-county entity and Berry is NOT a Custer County elected official. She is elected to the JD-11and not to a Custer County office. However, Steigerwalt insisted that she be allowed to vote. (What Steigerwalt was trying to do, out of nowhere, was to simply add an illegal voting member at the last minute to surprise the anti Hedberg crew. Remember the JD-11 has never been a CCRCC member, has never been asked to be a CCRCC member, and has never voted in a CCRCC election. This folks, is flat out attempt at a fraudulent election, is totally DIRTY politics and has no place here.)

To continue reading, go to xxx

This caused a huge uproar in the crowd as on the surface, it appears that of the 16 voting members in the CCRCC, maybe eight had been rounded up to vote for Hedberg.The other eight were vehemently opposed. So, Steigerwalt and his cronies needed one more vote to pull this caper off, so he invented this cheap, cheap shot. (The pro Hedberg contingent was mostly county elected officials.)

Ann Barthrop, spoke up and said that this move was totally improper and illegal. After some heated discussion, Ms. Barthrop moved to table the election for CCRCC Chair until a ruling was made by the State Republican Party as to the question on the floor. This motion was then voted on and barely passed. as all the RINO’s voted for NOT asking if what they were doing was legal (seven votes). Eight people voted to look into it. The person that saved the day was our County Assessor J.D. Heinrich who abstained as he wanted more information before voting. Once this was done, Steigerwalt announced that the election for the Chair  would be postponed to a CCRCC October 26th meeting.

At one point, before the vote during this Clown Show, Steigerwalt announced to the people who wanted to comment that no negative comments would be allowed by the people who wanted to speak about the candidates. (What! How can you have a true debate on the candidates if you can’t criticize them? Here, they are preventing the people from discussing the myriad of issues with Hedberg thus hiding his true nature. This is the core of the problem with the CCRCC RINO’s (aka, the “courthouse clique) as they hide the true character of the candidates from the public by suppressing free speech and debate. This is exactly how we got worse than RINO candidate the last few years causing the people to use the recall tool to get rid of them. They should never have been nominated.)

Mr. Steigerwalt’s effort to suppress comments about Hedberg was an affront to honest debate and free speech. Hedberg is literally an enemy of the Republican Party and conservative politics, not to mention his treatment of ordinary citizens in daily life. So, because you won’t allow it, Mr. Steigerwalt, we will list just SOME of the issues the citizens of this county have with Hedberg. Maybe you should read this, sir.

This is the guy Steigerwalt wants to run the Custer County Republican Party:

—Hedberg was an unaffiliated, independent, registered voter until registering as a Republican EARLY THIS YEAR. No past history of ever supporting the Republican Party. A total newcomer.

—Hedberg was arrested late one night a few years ago for DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. When the deputies showed up, he was covered in blood. (It was  a horrific case. We have the Sheriff’s report if you want to read it.) This was a violent Domestic Abuse case. He spent the night in jail. The lib judge gave him a conditional sentence with no jail if he did a multi-month alcohol/behavior course and stayed out of trouble for a year. (Colorado justice.) Steigerwalt and the RINO’s want a person arrested for a violent, bloody, Domestic Abuse case to represent our party here in Happy Valley?

—Profane: This editor of the Trib paper regularly drives by the Sentinel giving the finger to us even when my ladies are outside. Obviously, a very mature person.

—Over the last few years, usually late at night, Hedberg uses extreme profanity (including the “f” bomb) in social media posts (e.g., Facebook) against various Custer County ladies having discussions. A lot of these ladies are mature and married. They don’t curse. This is a stable “man”?

—Out of courtesy, a local Republican lady recently emailed Hedberg some information relating to the County Manager scandal. Hedberg emailed her back calling her a “bitch”. I guess that is Hedberg’s way of saying “thank you”.

—Hedberg loves to scream extreme profanities at people who are on Main Street.  One was at three senior citizens on the lawn of the Sentinel where Hedberg stuck his head out of his truck, with the middle finger proudly raised, screaming at the top of his lungs bad, bad curse words in the middle of the afternoon. Another was at the Independence Day parade where he screamed the “f word” at a parade participant. There were dozens of women and children around him at the time. And we have other cases. Steigerwalt wants this unstable guy, with severe emotional issues to lead our local party?

—Just two weeks ago, some citizens were outside the BOCC building after a BOCC meeting. Driving past, Hedberg spotted them, screeched the tires of this truck to come to a halt, jumped out, and ran up to them yelling at them like a madman. At one point, the citizens said they were literally afraid that the crazy man in front of them was going to physically attack them. When Hedberg was done with this fit, he jumped back in his truck and burned out of there.

Hmmm, a true future leader of the Republican Party. A real team builder.

—Hedberg and Taxation: At a recent BOCC meeting where the massive property tax increase coming was being discussed, Hedberg called in and said he was happy there was a tax increase so all the things the county hasn’t done yet can be done. He hoped the County Board would not try to get the mil levees lowered. (Typical lib, other people’s money. We don’t think Hedberg owns any property here in Custer….) Do Republicans stand for higher taxes and bigger government?

—Republican Loyalty: Hedberg actually endorsed the extreme left-wing candidate for County Commissioner, Deb Adams, who ran as “unaffiliated” against a true conservative Republican incumbent, Bill Canda! Hedberg posted Adam’s campaign signs in the Tribune window. Adams is also often seen at the Trib’s office making homey with the “Republican” Hedberg. (Remember folks, a few Independence Days ago, where Adams was exposed attending a literal “anti-American” party here in Happy Valley. Yes, on Independence Day.) This is the kind of people our possible Republican County Chair hangs out with. If Hedberg gets Chair, watch for other independent and Democrat Liberal progressives entering the GOP and vying for positions like Vice Chair and Treasurer.

—A lot of times, when Hedberg calls in to BOCC meetings, he sounds like some histrionical “screaming Karen”. These childish tantrums are often directed at Commissioner Canda, a Republican,  who Hedberg hates. We have documented these.

—Hedberg was against the recall of ex Commissioner Tom Flower, the most ethically challenged Commissioner in living memory. Two peas in a pod.

—Hedberg sued the county in federal court because the BOCC awarded the legal notice contact to the Sentinel a few years back. It was totally frivolous, but he and his shill knew that the County’s insurance company would easily settle out of court due to the high cost of litigation in the federal court system. His take on that scam was $50k.

—Hedberg was all for giving the fired County Manager, Braden Wilson, $45k “severance pay” for “working” just five days. Yeah, Hedberg would protect the citizens’ interests.

—Hedberg, who just became a Republican, has never supported true Republican candidates or causes. His crass power grab here, in cahoots with the establishment left wing RINO’s in office, is a Trojan horse move by the entrenched bureaucracy and local lefties to radically transform our party here in Custer County. In fact, it would be its end.

We could go on. And on.

But let me ask you this, Republican voters?

  •   Is this the brand image you want for our CCRCC?
  •   Is this the “label” you want for our CCRCC?
  •  Is this the moral, ethical and emotionally well-adjusted person you want representing the CCRCC?
  •   Does Hedberg represent literally, any mainstream Republican values?
  •  Do you want a guy who can’t even respect the opening prayer at the CCRCC to run the CCRCC?
  •  Do you want a guy who supported an extreme left-wing candidate against a solid Republican to be the Chair of our party?
  •  Do you want a guy who is OPENLY HOSTILE to conservative Republicans, who make up the majority of the County running the Republican Party here?

Let’s look forward for a second: What decent, conservative Republican candidate running for local office would even associate with the CCRCC with a guy like this running the party? The candidate is totally better off running unaffiliated to avoid the stinking taint that the CCRCC would become. This move, if successful, would be the death knell of the CCRCC. No decent candidate would want to run under the Republican brand, with a “man”, narcissistic beyond belief, a true bully, emotionally unfit with clear leftist beliefs defining our local party. Is this what you want, Mr. Steigerwalt? You could NOT HAVE CHOSEN A MORE DIVISIVE FIGURE.

SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR ACCOMPLICES FOR TRYING TO DESTROY OUR PARTY.

YOU AND THE OTHERS ARE A DISGRACE. THIS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

And yes, we will PUBLISH THE NAMES of the RINO’s who vote for Hedberg. Over and over again. Traitors to the Republican Party. No smokescreen here, folks. It is called accountability.

If that is what you want, Mr. Steigerwalt, and you RINO’s, then have at it. The conservative movement here in Happy Valley will gladly move to another genre. See you at the polls.

(Republicans: The next CCRCC meeting will determine the fate of the party here in Custer County. And the fate of the County. If you want a Godless, lib minority to run the party and destroy our county, stay at home. If you want to keep low taxes, low crime, and general sanity in our local government, show up October 26th, 6 p.m. at the courthouse and make your voices heard. This may be your last shot at saving Custer County from the ravishes of Godless liberalism.)

2023, BOCC, Uncategorized

The Infamous June 29, 2023 BOCC ES, A Window Into Corrupt Government

The Infamous June 29, 2023
BOCC Executive Session

A Window Into Corrupt Government

by George Gramlich, News and Commentary
Sangre de Cristo Sentinel

Some background: Earlier this year Custer County Commissioners Kevin Day and Tom Flower pushed to dramatically change the structure of our county government by adding a whole new, all powerful, layer of government to our small structure: That is creating the position of a County Manager (CM) who basically would run the whole show. Apparently, Day and Flower thought that the job they were elected to do was overwhelming and they didn’t have enough time to attend meetings around the state with our bureaucrats and elected officials begging for money. So, they wanted somebody to do their work for them.

Well, that didn’t go well with the citizens of Happy Valley and they made a huge stink. Day called a workshop meeting, and the citizens flattened him and Flower. Commissioner Canda volunteered to form a study group on that idea and to also review the entire county government structure and function. Day and Flower then backed off waiting until Canda’s study group gave their report.

Continue reading The Infamous June 29, 2023 BOCC ES, A Window Into Corrupt Government →

2023, BOCC, Uncategorized

BOCC Double Header Oct 3 & 4

News and Commentary
The 10.3.23 BOCC:
The October 3, 2023 meeting of the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) started at 1 p.m. in their royal throne room. All three commissioners were present: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp.
In Commissioner Comments, Canda gave an update on our local “rabbit ears” two TV channels that broadcast from a local mountain to the peasants in Happy Valley. He said he met with chief engineers of both stations and that there is no written contract between them and the county and also there is no law forcing them to maintain broadcast translators for us. Canda says they are both looking around for used equipment that they would give us or we would have to buy our own. He is scheduling a meeting with the stations general managers to further explore options.
Canda is also going to schedule a meeting with a property tax expert and our assessor to discuss options and strategies on reducing our property tax mill levies due to the astronomical increase in property valuations.
Len Arrigo was first up in Public Comments. He wanted to know what controls were in place to monitor out-of-cycle (OOC) checks as it appears Finance cut a check for the fired County Manager for $30k (severance pay per contract which Day had inserted into the contract) and it was not reviewed or ok’d by a commissioner. He said he is going to do a CORA request to get a copy of the check.
In New Business, Day introduced a resolution to release the audio of the BOCC Executive Session (ES) on August 31, 2023 where the commissioners discussed the few resumes that were submitted for the County Manager position. (Remember Day restricted the resume submission period to only five days to minimize anybody decent submitting a resume so News and Commentary
The 10.3.23 BOCC:
The October 3, 2023 meeting of the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) started at 1 p.m. in their royal throne room. All three commissioners were present: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp.
In Commissioner Comments, Canda gave an update on our local “rabbit ears” two TV channels that broadcast from a local mountain to the peasants in Happy Valley. He said he met with chief engineers of both stations and that there is no written contract between them and the county and also there is no law forcing them to maintain broadcast translators for us. Canda says they are both looking around for used equipment that they would give us or we would have to buy our own. He is scheduling a meeting with the stations general managers to further explore options.
Canda is also going to schedule a meeting with a property tax expert and our assessor to discuss options and strategies on reducing our property tax mill levies due to the astronomical increase in property valuations.
Len Arrigo was first up in Public Comments. He wanted to know what controls were in place to monitor out-of-cycle (OOC) checks as it appears Finance cut a check for the fired County Manager for $30k (severance pay per contract which Day had inserted into the contract) and it was not reviewed or ok’d by a commissioner. He said he is going to do a CORA request to get a copy of the check.
In New Business, Day introduced a resolution to release the audio of the BOCC Executive Session (ES) on August 31, 2023 where the commissioners discussed the few resumes that were submitted for the County Manager position. (Remember Day restricted the resume submission period to only five days to minimize anybody decent submitting a resume so  the job. Even with his weak resume.) Day said that since the meeting discussed resumes from people who were not a “finalist”, then the law says the recording can’t get released. (Remember, Day and Flower only chose Wilson as the only finalist so no other resumes could be released. Canda wanted “Candidate G” as a finalist but Day and Flower shot it down.)
After much commissioner and County Attorney gabbing, citizen Nadine Peterson spoke up and suggested that the BOCC have the meeting transcribed and leave out any resume info. Citizen Bill Parker then spoke up against the three minute time limit Day is imposing on us citizens’ comments.
Canda then spoke up and said this was the first time he saw a three minute time limit on the Agenda itself and said, “Kevin, you put that there. We didn’t vote on it. The people have a right to make their case, especially for a small county like us.” He also said we should release a copy today of the blood money check that Wilson got. Later on, citizen Steven Wilcox said the commissioner should vote on having a three minute comment limit and he wants that on as an agenda item for the next meeting.
There then was a big discussion on the controls and protocols for OCC checks with citizens demanding answers from Day. Epp said he would look into that and Canda noted that it was his understanding that big OOC checks needed approval.
And that was that.

The 10.4.23 BOCC:
The October 4th BOCC meeting started at 9 a.m. in their throne room. In Commissioner Items, Canda continued the local TV transmitting issue stating that a new VFR translator costs around $13k and we would need two of them. He is going to meet with the two TV station chief engineers about them installing and maintaining them. Continue reading BOCC Double Header Oct 3 & 4 →

2023, Uncategorized

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE – Dan Gasper

Interview by Fred Hernandez
A native of the Centennial State, Dan Gasper was born in a family of five siblings and raised in Denver where he grew up and graduated from McClain High School. He then attended Warren Occupational Technical School where he special-ized in mechanics. Following in his father’s footsteps, he went to work for a GMC dealership and became an expert in his field. After twenty years of service he retired and in 2019, he moved to Custer County where he has many family members. He first worked for D&W Services LLC before accepting a position as Shop Manager for Custer County Road and Bridge. As the manager of the shop, he oversees all aspects of repair and maintenance of vehicles and all other equipment owned by the county from heavy equipment to chain saws, trucks, cars, ATV’s and all other machinery and equipment of the various departments of the county including the Sheriff’s Department, Airport, Wetmore Division, Office of Emergency Management and more. He is married to Breanna who is Administration and a Victim Advocate at the Sheriff’s Office.
Dan is a typical, hardworking, family man, father, uncle and friend. A traditional American who believes in his country and the values that it was founded on. As a father of a sixteen-year-old boy attending the local school, and having firsthand experience with what is going on in big city schools, he is concerned that what is taking place in the big cities may be making its way into the rural areas. He wants to be in the right place to prevent that from happening. While he admits that there is always room for improvement, he does not believe that the local school is moving in the wrong direction. In fact, he can see that his son is doing well, enjoys the sports programs, has good friends and gets along well with all his peers. He notes that some of the teachers are actually exceptional and have great relationships with students.
By his own admission, Dan is not a politician and wants as much as possible to keep all politics out of the school. He is a good listener, is honest and speaks his mind. However, he is quick to say that he does not speak until he knows all the facts, until he has done his own research and verified the issues. Dan does not have any agenda except to keep the school in the right direction and on that subject, he is quick to add that for those who do have an agenda, there are other places where they can go. He does not believe that changes have to be made for the entire school to accommodate a few.
Dan Gasper is concerned for the welfare of his son, his nephews and those of his friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. He wants the best for all children according to the values we all share as citizens of this great nation. We wish Dan all the best in his campaign for the school board.