Category Archives: 2018

BOCC: Dec 18

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
—December 18, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed. The commissioner room was packed to overflowing. Most were veterans attending to hear the agenda item regarding the VSO position. Some were there for the agenda item concerning broadband. Continue reading BOCC: Dec 18

Christmas Babies

Special Christmas Delivery at St. Thomas More Hospital

CAÑON CITY, COLO. – It’s just a few days until Christmas and two bundles of joy have been delivered at St. Thomas More Hospital’s Birth Center (STM). Michael David Hodges (Left, green hat) was born to Kyrstin Minich and Dylan Hodges. Briar Rose Grace Boone (Right, red hat) was born to Evelyn and Tyler Boone. Because STM believes in making every delivery special, stockings and knit caps were gifted to the newborns to help them celebrate their first Christmas. The stockings were created by STM volunteers and the knit caps were donated by Lifeway Southern Baptist Church.

Bobcats Play Against Burros

by Barbie Gierhart.
Sports Reporter

On Saturday, December 15th Custer County High School Basketball teams had their home games against the South Park Burros. The Varsity Boys and Girls played hard, but both lost to South Park.
The Lady Bobcat’s final score was 45-38. Scoring the most points was Memphis Curry with 12.

Lady Bobcat Varsity Play Burros
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

Katherine Mullett added 10 points, Lindsey Gillmore eight, Emma Aldrich seven, and Brittany Benoit scoring one point.
The Custer County Boys Basketball team took two tough losses over the weekend. On Friday, the Bobcats traveled to Colorado Springs and lost to ECA 62-32. WilliamBerry led the team in scoring and rebounding with eight points and 12 rebounds. Cash Rowley and Chad Lewenkamp each added six points. On Saturday, the Bobcats lost to South Park at home 50-34. Wesley Curtis lead the team in points with 11 and rebounds with seven. Ben Penkoff added six points. William Berry lead team with three steals and Chad Lewenkamp lead the team with three assists.
Coach Prins stated that “We had a lot of good looks, we just couldn’t make the shots.”
The JV Lady Bobcats also played South Park on
Saturday, December 15th losing to the Burros 35-25.

Lady Bobcats on Defense
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

The Middle School Bobcat Boys played two away games last week. The A Team had an impressive win against Gardner 58-14. The B Team also won against Gardner 19-14. The A Team had a big win against South Park 44-17, but the B Team lost their game against South Park 11-2.

CCSD-1 JV Boys played Burros this week.
Photo by sports reporter Barbie Gierhart

Football Awards Night

Football Award Night

Bobcat Football Raises the Bar in 2018

by CCSD-1 Coaching Staff
The Custer County High School Football team ended the year 5-4, and competing for a playoff position for most of the season. Leading the 2018 Bobcats were All-League selections seniors Ray
Perez and Adam Sapp and junior Cold Budds. Honorable mention recognition was extended to senior Chad Lewenkamp and
junior Patrick Post.
Ray Perez led the Bobcats in rushing with 723 yards, followed closely by Cole Budds with 675 yards, while Chad Lewenkamp led in passing with 304 yards. Patrick Post led the team in receptions with 6.  Leading the team in tackles was Budds with 131 tackles. For his efforts, Budds was awarded Defensive Player of the Year for the Bobcats and Perez was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year. Special Teams Player of the Year was awarded to Adam Sapp and Patrick Post for their commitment to and performance on the kicking teams. Practice Player of the Year was given to JD Morris.
The “Bobcat Award” which recognizes a player who best exemplifies the foundations of the football program was awarded to Chad Lewenkamp. “Chad was a great leader for us!”, noted head coach Troy Bomgardner. “He was the “do-it-right guy and an
awfully good football player, he will be greatly missed!”.
Other team awards given included: Most Improved Player- Elias Zeller and Tony Tomassoni. “Against All Odds” Award to Greyson Barwick, Hit of the Year Award to Jakob Morris. Highest Senior GPA Awardt to Chad Lewenkamp. “Pound for Pound” Award to Tyler Camper and Team Player Award to Casey Sargent and Jakob Morris. Captains for the 2018 season were Chad Lewenkamp, Ray Perez and Adam Sapp.
“I was very pleased with this year,” said Bomgardner. “Our players put in great effort and I felt they did “Raise the Bar” for our football program. We have a good number of returners and our effort continues to improve in the weight room so we are excited about 2019; this is a compliment to this year’s seniors.”

 

Trash Wars: P Bar O Back in Business

by George Gramlich
After the hearing between Oak Disposal Services, Inc. and P BAR O Disposal et al on December 12th, in the Custer County Courthouse, Magistrate Michael William Weyrick, vacated the Temporary Restraining Order placed on P BAR O on November 20, 2018, allowing them to get back into business.
The courtroom was packed with about 125 attendees.
The Magistrate also declined to grant Oak Disposal a Preliminary Injunction against P BAR O. Continue reading Trash Wars: P Bar O Back in Business

Bobcat Varsity Games

by Barbie Gierhart
and Coaching staff


On Wednesday, December 5th, Custer County High School Basketball teams had their home opener games against the SCA Spartans. The Varsity Girls played a good game with a win of 52-49. Scoring the most points of the game was Memphis Curry with 17 points. Katherine Mullett put up 16 points, added by Lindsey Gillmore with 14, Jessie Henrich four points and Hailey Hunter with one point.
The Varsity Boys played hard but lost to the Swallow Charter School’s Spartans 61-40. The high scorer of the game was Dillon Kinsey with 10 points. Jakob Morris brought eight points, Patrick Post added seven, Wesley Curtis six, William Berry five, and Chad Lewenkamp along with Ben Penkoff both adding two points. Penkoff lead team with four assists and Berry led team with four steals.
The Bobcats boys travel to Colorado Springs this Friday night to play ECA and are home on Saturday to host South Park. Hope to see you there!

A County Wide Nuisance Law? Really!

BOCC: A County Wide Nuisance Law? Really!
Who/What Is Really the Nuisance Here?
The People or The Government?

 

An open letter;

To Commissioners Tom Flower, Bill Canda:
The county “nuisance” law recently proposed by the BOCC WILL start the slippery slope towards “Boulderizing” Custer County. This is dangerous ground.
I, and many, many others have seen it before.
It starts with litter, then it’s noise, then it’s noise from guns, then it’s Conex containers, then its dogs, then it’s your porch light, then it’s your cow manure, then it’s the paint on your house or barn, then it’s the old jeep in your yard, then its a broken down tractor, then its YOUR XXXX behavior annoying a California transplant. The bottom line is: THEN THEY COME FOR YOU. Continue reading A County Wide Nuisance Law? Really!

Change Coming To the VSO

Tim Swartz: Farewell and Job Well Done

by Fred Hernandez
To the regret of all, the VSO (Veterans Service Office), officer in charge Tim Swartz has announced that he has given his preliminary notice to the Board of County Commissioners; he will be leaving his post at the end of this month. Last year there was news that due to certain health issues Tim had decided to relocate to lower elevations. That did not happen as expected. This time, however, for the same reasons, all the elements seems to be in place to make his planned exit from Custer County a reality. Tim will be missed as one who played an important role in the lives of many residents of the county. In looking back at these achievements, particularly in how they positively affected resident veterans, we count some truly remarkable ones. 
In the year 2014, before Tim took the job as VSO, the number of appointments at that office by veterans was a paltry one hundred forty (140). The year after he took the position, that number quadrupled to between five and six hundred. Incredibly, today that number averages between nine hundred and a thousand. That alone is one huge achievement. Starting as a part timer at a job that was being done by two different entities (The Legion and VSO), with limited funding from the State, Tim rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Today, the VSO has a fully operational office, he has undergone extensive professional training and there is adequate state funding to insure the full-time employment of a service officer for the long term. In addition, great progress has been made in rating veterans and properly qualifying them in regard to service connected disabilities. As a result, funds streaming into the county have appreciated by almost one million dollars from $2.5 in 2014, to $3.5 in 2017. Remarkable indeed.
As we read this report, Tim will have given his own report of the VSO to the BOCC in their meeting of December 4th.
As he prepares for his departure Tim reminisces on the things he will miss most; the people he has met and gotten to know. Some have become like family and even more than family. And job satisfaction that he felt so deeply every time he successfully helped someone or their family to benefit from the services he provided. And yes, the mountains. He had thought that this would be his last stop. He loved the Sangre’s majestic range. These are the things he will miss most after he leaves the area. However, he looks forward to the next chapter of his life. He will move to an area that is only six hundred feet above sea level. He has identified a location he would like to live in with close proximity to a lake, great parks and trail systems. Tim looks forward to the sabbatical he plans to take in order to focus on the efforts to regain his health. He looks forward to spending time with his lovely and supportive wife Ellen whose main personal goal is to help Tim achieve full recovery. We all wish both Tim and Ellen all the best in their new adventure. As for Tim Swartz, thank you for all your hard work and efforts. Thank you, Sir, for a job well done at the VSO. Adios and Vaya con Dios!

Living Nativity December 15th

 

Living Nativity
20th Year at Shepherd of the Hills
Lutheran Church

Press Release

Saturday, December 15th from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church will continue its traditional re-creation of the birth of Christ as a Living Nativity scene. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the event.
Visiting the Living Nativity has become a tradition for many viewers, as well as cast members. New visitors are invited to join in the tradition at 801 N. Sheridan Avenue in Cañon City to help celebrate the Christmas season. Continue reading Living Nativity December 15th