Press Release

The final of four gymkhanas in the Wet Mountain Valley Saddle Club (WMVSC) Buckle Series was held October 3rd at the WMVSC arena. Contestants had to compete in three of the four gymkhanas held August 29th, September 12th and 26th and October 3rd to be eligible for prizes. Winners of each age group received a belt buckle; 2nd place, a leather embossed backpack; 3rd and 4th places; a custom-made photo frame, courtesy of sponsors River Valley Ranches, Shy Fencing, Valley Feeds, Jim and Lin Ward, and
Wyoming Blanton Ent. LLC.
The WMVSC hosted a burger and hot dog dinner after the event and awards were presented.
Award winners
Leadline: 1. Mikayla Martinez Penrose, CO 2. Everleigh Jennings, Elizabeth, CO 3. Jentry Jennings Elizabeth, CO 4. Charlie Wood, Westcliffe, CO
8 & Under: 1. Allie Martin Avondale, CO 2. Sage Shy Silver Cliff, CO 3. Stormi Clausen Florence, CO .
9-13: 1. MacKenna Handy Franktown, CO 2. Jesse Lenard Penrose CO 3. Lacey Valdez 4. Courtnee Palmer Nathrop, CO.
14-18: 1. Kaylee Simahusier, Florence , CO 2. Brylee Shy Silverc Cliff, CO 3. Aspen Trotti Florence, CO 4. Ally McKissack Penrose, CO
Adult: 1. Keely Smith Wetmore, CO 2. Amber Wood Westcliffe, CO 3. Marci WommackWestcliffe, CO 4. Katlyn Wommack Cotopaxi, CO
Special Awards:
High Money: Kaylee Simahusier Florence, CO
Hard Luck: Haley Frazier, Pueblo , CO
Most Determined: Cadence Palmer, Nathrop, CO
Most Improved: Calli Quintana Salida, CO
Leadline Winners: Jentry Jennings, Everleigh Jennings, Mikayla Martinez, Sponsor, Dawn Ramsdell

Special thanks to Keely Smith for photos.

by George Gramlich,
Commentary
It’s a pretty simple ballot this year for Custerites with only one county contested election but a big, big dollar item is at the end.

Custer County School District:

In the Director 1 slot, Peggi Collins is running unopposed. For Director 5, Tracy Marie Broll is also unopposed.
The one contested race is Director 4 with Alma L. Golden and Jordan Benson as the candidates. (See our interviews of them on page one.) Alma has a grandson attending the school and Jordan has two kids attending. Alma, a former pediatrician and teacher, has spent virtually her entire life in the childhood medical and educational fields, nationally and internationally. Jordan is a parent involved in a lot of local activities including being a Town of Silver Cliff Trustee. Both are qualified to fill the role. Your choice. (Note: EVERYBODY can vote for every Board of Ed Director opening.)

State Ballot Measures:

Amendment 78 (Constitutional): Vote YES on this. Colorado receives a lot of money from the Feds and others, known as “Custodial Money”, that goes straight into the state’s bureaucracy by-passing the state assembly. Thus, our elected officials have no say on how the Denver eunuchs spend this loot. This Amendment changes the process where all Custodial Money goes into a special pot. The General Assembly then decides on how to spend it. This is good. Vote YES on 78.
Proposition 119 (Statutory): Vote NO on this disaster. This one is real bad. It increases the tax on retail pot sales by $137,600,000 a year to fund, yes, programs “for the children”. They give the standard laundry list of the usual socialist child bait programs. The problem is that the proposition creates a totally independent board that will control all this money. Once the initial board is appointed by the governor and his left-wing homies, when a vacancy occurs, THE BOARD ITSELF APPOINTS THE REPLACEMENT! Nobody else can appoint board members so the board, will of course, go rogue quickly with NO OVERSIGHT from the legislature or the executive branch. So the brain surgeons behind this measure want to give over a $100 million to these totally unaccountable lefties every year to, of course, shower “certain qualifying children” (their words not mine,) and “children’s” programs (think perverted sex ed, critical race theory, etc.) with pot money. And parents don’t qualify! A $100 million! This is beyond bad. Vote NO.
A good article on what began as Initiative 25 when attempting to get it on the ballot, can be found here.

Proposition 120 (Statutory): Vote YES on 120. The background is a little complex with the dems in Denver changing some definitions of property that stopped a prior property tax reduction. This corrects those definitions by giving private and almost all commercial property about a 10% decrease in their property taxes. (About time!) Vote YES on 120.

County Ballot Measures:

Custer County Justice Center Sales and Use Tax Ballot Issue 1A: This is the big magilla. Just to review: There has been a county committee working on this for years. They are proposing a new building complex that will house a new courthouse, county jail and Sheriff’s Office plus some county offices. They want to increase Custer County’s sales and use tax by 2% which would bring sales tax in the Westcliffe and Silver Cliff Towns to 9.9% which would be one of the highest in the state. The building cost is about $18 million dollars which the county would get through a projected 25 year bond purchase. The 2% sales and use tax increase would bring in around $1.25 million a year which would result in a payback cost of around $31.1 million. The committee says they can probably get $4+ or so million in grants which would reduce the cost a lot. There is no doubt a new jail and SO offices are needed and we definitely could use a new or updated courtroom. There are issues with possible lawsuits from inmates and the possibility the state will sue the county if a new courthouse is not built. So, it’s a tough call. It’s a ton of money (especially considering the whole county’s budget is around $7 million a year) but there is definitely a concrete need for some changes. So, it’s your call here, citizens.