THANK YOU
by George Gramlich
Due to serious, personal health issues, we must shut the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel. This will be our last publication.
It’s been some ride. Thirteen years ago, four patriots had an idea: publish a conservative, Christian weekly print newspaper covering Custer County (and to some degree Fremont County). The founding partners were Mike Hess, George Gramlich, Mary Seifert and Rob Canterbury. Over the years Mike, Mary and Rob had to move on, leaving George Gramlich as the sole founder. It would be remiss of me not mention a “fifth partner” Kat Brenchley, as she was the glue that held the group together.
And thanks to the wonderful patriots who worked or volunteered over the years. These are a few of them: Fred Hernandez. Jackie and Dan Bubis, Barbara Napolitan, Galen Studebaker, Audrey Slater, Yvonne Phillips, Ann Barthrop, Becky Olson, Lisa Frank, Carol and Scott Clemenson, Ewa and Joe Sederstrom, the Chaffee County team, our picture-taking experts and many, many others to whom we are most grateful.
Plus special thanks to our current outstanding crew: Laura Vass, Fred Hernandez, Yvonne Phillips, Kat Brenchley and Galen Studebaker.
Over the years the Sentinel has helped in the effort to keep our County conservative. Here are just a few examples: killed Building Codes, killed the Dark Skies county law, raised $16k for Eagles
Summit Ranch for 12 vets to take the week long rehab course, two County Commissioner recalls where ‘we the people’ got rid of a bunch of poorly performing commissioners, Shield 616 where
we raised over $26k so our Sheriff’s Office could have state of the art body protection (special thanks to Sam Hepp on that fundraiser), ran the Independence Day Parade for many years, revived the Memorial Day Parade which we sponsored for many years, highlighted our local school via dozens and dozens of centerfolds, ran a slate of anti-pot candidates for the Silver Cliff town board which prevented the introduction of pot farms, pot stores, and locally sold pot in Happy Valley, brought the BOCC meetings to YouTube for the first time, fought manic Covid restrictions on businesses and our school that could have shuttered the town long-term, served as a hub for many a ballot petition, plus many, many more.
Maybe the best part of this adventure was meeting or just talking with our readers. You want to define hard core supporters? Just talk to the Sentinel’s readers. From the hardcore to the regular conservatives, they were loyal to the core. Thank you for supporting us. God Bless.
Our Advertisers were the ones who kept us in business. You stuck with us as our opposition tried to peel you away from us. Special thanks to Bob Senderhauf (Custer County Realty) for his rock-solid support since Day One. Also thanks to Pat Bailey (Solar Solutions), Seifert Enterprises & Beach RediMix, Ray Swota, Norup Gas, Salty Pine, True Value Hardware & Trailers folks, Jean & Jack Canterbury, Brenda Bosse, Kirkpatrick Bank, Wet Mountain Storage, Jared Smith Dental, Holt Funeral Home, High Peaks Animal Hospital, Tony’s (Sam Hepp & Johnny Winton) and Westcliffe Supermarket – now Lowe’s Market.
There have been many non-profit and for-profit news sites, bloggers and columnists who have contributed exclusively and/or given us permissions to reprint their work over the years. To give a list would be desirable, but someone always gets left out. You know who you are. Close to home and for a long time, our readers would remember these: Mike Hess-A Sheepdog Barks, Jim Modlish-Politics & the Bible, Bill Wilson-Daily Jot, Audrey Slater-Kids Corner, and later on, Mark Bunch/Royal Gorge Gun Club, and Charlotte Burrous-Fremont County Crusader. Know that we are grateful and have appreciated your expertise and contributions over the years, helping to make our local paper “one of a kind”.
Four more thank you’s: The Sentinel would not have survived all these years without my best friend’s help. That man is Fred Hernandez. Through issue after issue, crisis after crisis, Fred stood tall and never wavered. He volunteered our very first year and has been a whirlwind of energy and productivity. Thank you, Fred, my best friend. I love you brother.
And then there is Laura Vass. Our computer lady. The woman is brilliant. She came on board without knowing our publishing software (which is very complex), and learned it in a short time. Laura produced nine years of issues. Laura puts the 24 page
Sentinel together every week and has never missed a beat.
God Bless you, lady.
Katherine Brenchley, our advertising lady and bookkeeper, saved the day a few years ago. Kat was one of the original crew but after a few years she had to leave. Even before she moved back to Happy Valley, Kat came back on board again four years ago and basically, saved the ship. Kat also does our centerfold (DT) and ad creation. (She was mentored by our prior sales lady, Barbara Napolitan. Thank you, Barb, for your dedication and work ethic.)
And then there is the lady who runs the reception desk and does a crucial variety of tasks every week, including subscriptions, proofing and archiving, with only a little bitch’n. She’s that person any office is lucky to have– who quietly serves everyone else’s needs and turns chaos into organization. Yvonne and I have been together for 33 years! We have worked together 24/7 on our various businesses over the years (including a 513-acre beef cattle ranch in upstate New York). Our love for each other is deep. We are not only lovers, but also best friends. I have been blessed. Thank you, my little Abenaki Princess. You are the love of my life.
Special thanks to David Codrea for giving us links on his super popular website, War on Guns. Also, Thanks to TL Davis. He is now at tldavis.substack.com.
Saying that, thanks to Mike Vanderboegh, the founder of the Three Percent movement. David and Mike were the first to report on the ATF gun running operation into Mexico. And remember that Mike came to Happy Valley and marched in our 2nd Amendment section in the Independence Day Parade. Mike loved Happy Valley.
A challenge to our fellow patriots: We are shutting down now but it is very doable to revive the Sentinel or start your own conservative newspaper. The ladies have all the knowledge to start a new newspaper. This little local newspaper has had a huge impact in our area. You can do it, too. Remember, media is where things get done. And the fight is local, Patriots, watching Fox News doesn’t cut it.
Finally, thank you to all my friends. It has been one heck of a ride!
— GG