All posts by sentineladmin

BOCC

First Streamed BOCC Meeting

R&B gravel bid goes to A&S Construction, County Server Crashed, DA Not Interested in Grant Money?

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
Westcliffe, CO
—January 24, 2018
by Jackie Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call. Introductions of the public in attendance followed.
Minutes for January 9th and 10th were approved unanimously.
Commissioner Items
Commissioner Printz met with the Tourism Board by phone. He attended the Sheriff’s Awards dinner and the Early Childhood Development meeting. He reported that there is an outlet that is not working in the Wetmore Community Center and he wants to hire an electrician to fix it. Commissioner Canda asked about the dollar limit that would require three bids on a job, wanting to make sure there is no nepotism with regards to commissioners hiring work done. Continue reading First Streamed BOCC Meeting →

Uncategorized

FORTY-YEAR HOME-GROWN SUCCESS

FORTY-YEAR HOME-GROWN SUCCESS Congratulations to Entrepreneur Russ Hartbauer

Russ Hartbauer in front of his thriving local business of 40 years, Westcliffe Petroleum.
photo by Katrina Stone

by Fred Hernandez

The year was 1978 in America. A good year. The average cost of a new house was $ 54,800, monthly rent was $260 and the price of a gallon of gasoline was 63 cents. Bacon was at $1.20 /lb. and eggs were 48 cents a dozen. On the international scene the big news was Egypt and Israel had signed the Camp David Peace Accords brokered by then President Jimmy Carter. Continue reading FORTY-YEAR HOME-GROWN SUCCESS →

Uncategorized

Ben Rusher Day Proclaimed

 

The Custer County Board of County Commissioners solemnly declared January 31st as Ben Rusher Day in memory of Ben Rusher’s heroic effort to save his drowning brother last summer. Shown is Commissioner Printz reading and presenting memorial plaques to Ben’s father, John Rusher, and mother, Elin Parker Ganschow.

Photo by George Gramlich

2018, Letters

Federal Broadband Definitions: The Impact on CCEDC’s Proposal

Editor;
I would like to address the issue of government run Internet provisioning as the Custer County Economic Development Corporation advocates. Because the issue is complex and I don’t want to chase rabbits, I will limit my concerns in this letter.
First, we need to define broadband. In 2015, the FCC changed the requirement for Internet speeds to be considered broadband from 4 Megabits per second download speed and 1 Mbps upload to 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. That meant millions who had fast enough Internet speeds suddenly did not have “broadband”. The decision was completely arbitrary and capricious and was not based on any science. Continue reading Federal Broadband Definitions: The Impact on CCEDC’s Proposal →

Custer County Kids

January 16th School Board Meeting: from Districts to an At-large Election?

Custer County C-1 School Board Meeting
—January 16, 2018
by Larry Luikart,
Reporter
President Davis called the meeting to order leading the assembled group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Director Parkes was absent to attend to the needs of his spouse who was having a medical procedure.
There were no Public Comments requested at either session as listed in the Agenda.
The Consent Agenda included four items: The minutes from the Regular Board Meeting on December 12, 2017; Head Coach and Athletic Director Evaluation forms; a request for Leave of Absence by Carrie Smith. All requests were approved by the Board. Continue reading January 16th School Board Meeting: from Districts to an At-large Election? →

Custer County Kids

Building Trades Class Project for 2017-18 School Year

by Jim Silver
This year’s class of eight students is making good progress in the second phase of the project begun last school year, which is two more housing units for Custer County teachers.
Last year’s class completed the two ground floor apartments of the four-plex, which are presently occupied. Now, the garden-level units are under construction by this crew of mostly experienced hands in the carpentry trade, under the watchful eye of their instructor, Mr. Cole McCollum. “Mostly experienced” means that these young men—all juniors and seniors and half of them return attendees of this class– are demonstrating an ever-increasing body of skills and are making correct how-to decisions along the way. Continue reading Building Trades Class Project for 2017-18 School Year →

2018

Dark Skies Redux: A Lighter Side of Darkness Proposed ?

Image

by George Gramlich,
Commentary
Clint Smith, Vice President of the local Dark Skies organization, was gracious in visiting with the Sentinel last week with regards to a new, revised Dark Skies amendment that his organization is now proposing.  You will recall that their original one, now before Custer County’s Planning and Zoning Commission (on their February 5th meeting agenda), was quite oppressive and it also had criminal and monetary penalties for violations. (Although Commissioner Printz denied, in public, multiple times, that the proposal contained those penalties. He has never retracted those comments.) This proposal was widely panned in multiple BOCC and general public meetings as being a massive infringement on our property rights without any compelling state interest. Continue reading Dark Skies Redux: A Lighter Side of Darkness Proposed ? →

2018, Letters

Dark Skies VP Clint Smith Softens Approach

Letter to the Editor;
On Monday, February 5, at 1:30 p.m. the Custer County Planning Commission will be conducting another public meeting to solicit further comment on the issue of amending the Custer County Zoning Resolution with respect to light pollution. This issue has been characterized over the past several months as an attempt by our non-profit group—Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley—to impose a “Dark Skies ordinance” and to force onerous and restrictive outdoor lighting regulations on the residents of the county. Continue reading Dark Skies VP Clint Smith Softens Approach →

2018, Letters

A Call from Bradburn on Dark Skies: Lumens and Ranchers

Dear Editor,
I received a very cordial phone call from Jim Bradburn, the president of the Astronomy Club, in which he explained some Dark-Sky guidelines concerning a dark sky reserve which shed more light on the subject than my poor old brain previously picked up.
My main concern was the effect the proposed addition to the zoning resolutions would have on our ranchers. The effect would be nothing because of Resolution 98-14 Establishing a right to ranch and farm policy of Custer County which protects our ranchers and farmers from all complaints having to do with their ranching and farming. Continue reading A Call from Bradburn on Dark Skies: Lumens and Ranchers →