Election Day

Nothing too important in our part of the county:

• Re-1 Board members
  
• De-Brucing the library district
  
• Increased taxesto pay for books 'n' buses for RE-1

The state wants to take $50M from the excess taxes that were collected and fund the design of a rail system from Denver to Vail.

We'll see what the vote count tells us...

Fall in Four Mile

The leaves are changing. This is really the last good weekend for aspen viewing. We had a cold front through here yesterday and a lot of leaves are on the ground this morning.

Nights are cooler. Almost ready to fire up the stove. It won't be long.

However...the days are still warm! yeah! I love it! Sunny with temps in the 70's and even knockin' on the 80's!

We did have our first real snow a couple of weeks ago, so we've gotten that out of the way - about three good inches here at the Diamond J.

A lot of flags on display around the area as folks show their support for our country in the wake of the horrific events on 11 September.

Happy Birthday USA
Well, it's the middle of the summer. The weather in Four Mile is great.

Fourth of July celebrations all over Teller County went off without incident this year and it seems that a great time was had by all. I enjoyed the fireworks in Cripple Creek on the fourth and the Symphony Above the Clouds symphony performance and fireworks in Woodland Park on the fifth.

The people in Cripple Creek outdid themselves with the fireworks this year. Seems like every year they have been getting a little better each year.

As usual, the Symphony Above the Clouds event in Woodland Park was great - the football field was packed with people from all over the county (and some from down in the flatlands). The symphony did a great job (love the howitzer section from Ft. Carson and their excellent solo during the 1812 Overture). The theme of the concert this year was a trbute to the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor so they played a selection of big band numbers that were popular at the time. I liked the music, but longed for more traditional patriotic stuff. The orchestra did play America the Beautiful. I think it is simply the most moving experience in the world to listen to that piece of music played live, outdoors, with a view of Pikes Peak behind the orchestra!! Unfortunately, the fireworks display was not very good, IMHO. The folks from Cripple Creek did a much better job...and the fireworks display in Woodland park last year was better. Hope they fix it up for next year!

So Enough With These Crooks Already!
Popular opion in the neighborhood is split between whether the remaining two Texas Seven have departed the area or are lurking around somewhere. So off to work I go only to discover that the authorities have found the van these two were driving almost next door to my office building. I am about to get paranoid...

There's Gotta Be Happier News...
I noticed that the last two posts are about murderers and escaped convicts...not very pleasant stuff.

On a lighter and more interesting note, the skies have been clear out here in God's country and we've been enjoying Jupiter, Saturn and Venus in the night sky. Block and Byrd at Earth and Sky have a cool website and NPR radio broadcast that help me figure out what's good to see on the cellestial TV each night.

Five-Sevenths of the Texas Seven Accounted For
Woodland Park is not in Four Mile, but it is the nearest town with a Safeway and a movie theater, so stuff like this keeps us glued to our TV's. We're still keeping to doors locked because of the other two that are wandering around someplace...kinda spooky. CNN has pretty good coverage and that's what I'm watching.

No apparant connection with the murders over in Bear Trap.

Violence in Four Mile
I'm sure that many of you have been seeing press reports about the "Guffey Homicides". The Denver Post (http://www.denverpost.com/news/news0106a.htm), Denver Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/0107guff3.shtml) and Colorado Springs Gazette (http://www.gazette.com/daily/top1a.html and http://www.gazette.com/daily/top1b.html) have up-to-date information if you want to follow along. Those URLs are probably temporary, so if they don't work when you try them, go to the paper's main website and search on "guffey".

Interesting, but the Dutcher murders did not even take place in Guffey...guess it's the closest town. But if the the newsies use it, that keeps the name "Four Mile" out of news...just the way we like it. The Dutcher's lived in Bear Trap, which is in the middle of our Four Mile Community. They are our neighbors and friends and we are saddened by their passing. Tony, their grandson, lived in Colorado Springs, but visited his grandparents often (as did I when I was a lad)...he, too, will be missed.

We know that the one incident (Mandell-Wainer) that did occur in Guffey is a separate incident from the Dutcher murders (Carl, Joanna and Tony). The authorities have not published any motive, method, reason or suspect for the Dutcher murders, so Four Mile residents remain uneasy...keeping their doors locked and their protective devices ready.

Christmas & New Years
The holiday season was was fairly peaceful here in Four Mile. The weather was unseasonably warm and dry. The good news is that we were all able to see the AdAmAn Club fireworks at the top of Pikes Peak at midnight on New Years Eve! Great show this year! Thanks guys!

The new millenium is finally here!