Mayor Steve Bach

“It’s great that one politician is willing to step out there and say he’ll solve it, but it’s never been done by one person in the history of our city.”

– El Paso County engineer Andre’ Brackin, when asked about Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach taking the lead on solving stormwater problems.

The complex opens Jan. 23 with an invitation-only, mid-morning ribbon-cutting ceremony (or should it be a 21-gun salute?). Congressmen are invited along with the governor and local officials, including Maj. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Fort Carson’s commander. It’ll be open for public shooting about 1:30 that day, at no charge.

“People are welcome to come that afternoon and look the place over,” said Imad Karaki, El Paso County’s director of support services. “The complex will have a lot of conveniences.”

The county partnered with Fort Carson on the long-awaited project, which will feature seven shooting ranges, three for rifles and four for pistols. Targets and earplugs will be provided at check-in. Seated firing positions will be available at the rifle ranges.

Rates for civilians will be $10 a day, $90 for a 10-visit pass, and $210 for a 25-visit pass. It’s slightly less for retired military, Department of Defense civilians and active military. Children ages 6-12 will cost $4 a day.

Women will shoot free one Saturday a month, all will be free one day per quarter-year, and other discount days will be observed.

Read more about the shooting complex, located off Interstate 25′s exit 132 just outside Fort Carson Gate 20, at http://www.gazette.com/articles/county-149230-shooting-complex.html.

The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free a single slave, but was a turning point in the war. Lincoln had been careful to portray the war as a battle to preserve the Union but it then became a battle for human freedom.

Jubilee Day ’13, presented by the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the historic signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

All are welcome at noon Tuesday at Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, 3615 Vickers Drive. Rev. Cleveland A. Thompson, senior pastor of the church, is keynote speaker, with a reception to follow. Music will be provided by the EMBC Mass choir.

Read more below…

Mark Udall’s Pikes Peak regional office in Colorado Springs is accepting internship applications from undergraduate students and recent graduates for his office in Colorado Springs for the fall and winter semesters.  The internship program offers students the opportunity for public service and to learn hands-on about constituent services and the legislative process.

Sen. Mark Udall

Interns will assist state staff as they help constituents resolve issues with federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, meet with local partners, represent the senator at community-outreach events, and draft writing projects such as letters of support for grant applications and congressional inquiries to federal agencies.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; interested students can apply at http://markudall.senate.gov/students.  Internships are available on either a full-time or part-time basis.  This is an unpaid position, although college credit may be arranged through your school.

If you have questions, please contact Melissa Peltier at 719-471-3993.

Voter registration deadline is May 29, and a party must also be declared to vote in a primary. Eligible voters must have El Paso County residency by May 27.

Ballots will be mailed June 4 to active and inactive affiliated voters of the three parties conducting primary elections.

Unaffiliated voters have until June 19 to declare a party affiliation via online, mail, fax or email and receive a mail ballot. After June 19, voters must appear in person at one of the El Paso County Clerk’s four offices to declare a party affiliation and be eligible to vote in that primary. No ballots will be mailed after June 19.

Locations for the four Clerk & Recorder’s offices are:

• Citizens Service Center (West), 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Rd.
• Centennial Hall (Downtown), 200 S. Cascade Ave
• Union Town Center (North), 8830 N. Union Blvd.
• Powers (East), 5650 Industrial Pl. (Airport and Powers)

“Our office wants to ensure that every eligible elector is provided the opportunity to case a ballot in this year’s primary election,” said county Clerk & Recorder Wayne Williams. “Many of the races in El Paso County will be decided by the primary election, as many of the candidates do not face an opponent in the general election.”

The meeting will provide residents with updated information and the opportunity to get answers on a variety of subjects. County engineer Andre’ Brackin will speak about transportation and infrastructure projects. County development services project manager Craig Dossey will give a presentation on gas and oil exploration.

Glenn will also speak about election and ballot questions, along with economic conditions and trends affecting the county budget.

The meeting will begin with presentations from the Black Forest Transportation Committee and the Black Forest Area citizens group working to establish the Log School Park.

Newly remodeled upper level

The remodeling added a third counter for driver’s license service plus a larger and more

comfortable waiting area.

 
The reconfiguration of the Southeast Branch allows flexibility for more counters to be added if needed.

 
A portion of the upper level office will also be used as an Early Voting site for the November election.

 
The Southeast Branch, open from 8 .am. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, is at 5650 Industrial Place, near the intersection of Powers and Airport.

Previous smaller waiting area

The Southeast Branch is the busiest of the four Motor Vehicle offices offered in El Paso County. The other three locations are the main office at Citizens Service Center, 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Rd.; downtown at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade; and north at Union Town Center, 8830 N. Union Blvd.

For more information, go to http://car.elpasoco.com/motorvehicle.

Gessler believes if any party has a primary, then all primaries must be conducted. Williams believes the 2009 law allows a Clerk to cancel a party’s primary election while still conducting another party’s primary. The Republican primary is June 26.

Williams said the county will save approximately $68,000 by canceling the primaries and he intends to spend that on “Ballot on Demand Printers to improve our Early Voting proess this November, which is a direct benefit to our citizens. We want to spend the resources for the election that matters — not on uncontested races where there is no decision to be made.”

Uncontested candidates in primaries advance to November’s general election whether there is a primary or not, Williams said.

Because of the difficulties, none of the four branches of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office can currently process driver’s license renewals, according to the office. The office anticipates that renewals may be unavailable through Tuesday.

While the county’s renewal system is not working, people can still renew their driver’s licenses online at www.colorado.gov/vroom/renewlicense. This system can take up to 30 days for a license renewal to arrive in the mail.

All other motor vehicle services offered by the county office, including vehicle registration and titling, remain available.

Here’s the link to that day’s story … http://www.gazette.com/articles/money-136562-ranges-shooting.html

Good news for Udall is that he’s progressed to the point of getting a committee hearing for his bill. A link at the bottom shows how citizens can watch the hearing online at 8:15 a.m. on April 24.

Following is the press release from Sen. Udall’s office:

Thanks to over 5,200 Coloradans who signed a petition and others who shared personal stories backing Mark Udall’s bill to develop public shooting ranges. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act (S.1249) is scheduled to be heard at the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ (EPW) Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife on TUESDAY, April 24, 2012.  The measure would give states the flexibility to spend their already-allotted Pittman-Robertson funds to create or improve public shooting ranges.

In February, Udall called on Coloradans to voice their support for the bill; he delivered the signatures and wrote to committee leaders asking for a hearing to facilitate its passage through committee and to the Senate floor.  Last week, along with leaders in the shooting community, Udall held a press conference at a Colorado Springs range again urging Coloradans to sign his petition calling on the EPW subcommittee to hear his bill.

“I am pleased that the Committee on Environment and Public Works heard Coloradans’ call to hold a hearing on my bill to develop public shooting ranges,” Udall said. “Progress in Washington is not always easy, but this goes to show that Coloradans actively engaging in the process can make a difference. This hearing is a step in the right direction for a common-sense bill that expands opportunities for sportsmen and sportswomen to practice their sport without costing taxpayers a dime.”

Udall will attend the hearing to make remarks in support of his bill. The first panel of witnesses will feature Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dan Ashe and Dr. James Anderson, the director of National Institutes of Health’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives.  The second panel will comprise Dr. Doug Inkley, a senior wildlife biologist at the National Wildlife Federation; Dr. Greg Schildwachter with Watershed Results LLC; and Dr. Martin Wasserman of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

This event will take place Tuesday, April 24