By: Kris Hazelton
Colorado Division of Wildlife Volunteer

The new baby elk are now being born in the Estes Valley. With these births and the proximity of the elk population to Estes Park residents and visitors, here are a few words of caution and some things we should be aware of, to prevent any potentially harmful human/elk encounters.

Last spring, a cow elk gave birth to a calf on East Riverside Drive and this protective mother wasn’t about to let anyone come anywhere near her newborn baby. She charged anyone who happened to be strolling down the path or walking down the side of the road. It was potentially a very dangerous situation.
Residents in the area called the Estes Park Police Department who arrived on scene and accessed the situation. The mother elk was very intent on protecting her baby, who was resting on the riverbank nearby.

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The Blackhawk Helicopter which made an appearance at the 2008 Safety Fair, was flown by Major Joshua Day of the Air National Guard and it was probably the biggest hit of the event. The arrival of the chopper was so exciting because Major Day is from Estes Park—his mother was a teacher at Park R-3, and it was nice to have one of our own spotlighted in this way.

Own your own piece of local history. The Estes Park Museum is selling authentic Town of Estes Park redwood street signs to raise money for the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation Inc. Signs are $7.43 plus $.57 tax and are available at the Estes Park Museum at 200 Fourth Street. Limited quantities are available, and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The Museum recently received a new lot of redwood street signs which are included in the following inventory list:

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Memorial Services for Marjorie (Marge) Priess will be held on Sunday, June 1 at 3:00 in the afternoon at Good Samaritan Village. Marge’s Estes Park family includes Elaine and Bob Winslow and Bo, Lauri, Justin and Nicole Winslow.

The family extends an invitation to all those who might enjoy celebrating Marge’s life to join them at this time.

Estes Park resident Sylvia Berger died at Prospect Park Living Center, Wednesday, May 28, 2008. She was 88 years old. Sylvia Karner was born March 20, 1920 in Palestine. Her parents were Louis and Rachel Karner.

Sylvia grew up in Denver, CO. She attended one year at the University of Colorado and 3 years at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Denver, graduating in 1941. Sylvia entered the U.S. Navy on December 23, 1942, serving in the Navy Nurse Corps. She was commissioned as a Lieutenant and served in the South Pacific on Guadalcanal. She was awarded the American Area Service Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon and the World War II Victory Ribbon.

After her military service, she continued to work as a nurse and a homemaker. She lived in Aurora, CO and Reno, NV, before relocating to Estes Park in 2002.

Sylvia enjoyed bowling, participating in several leagues, bridge, bingo, and watching baseball. She loved animals and had seven “grandpets.” Sylvia was an intelligent and perceptive person, and was a lifelong source of inspiration and strength to her immediate and extended family.

Sylvia is survived by her son, Stephen and his wife Toby of Irvine, CA; her daughter, Marcy and her husband John of Estes Park, CO; three granddaughters, Jaime, Julia, and Laura and one grandson, Jason. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and a sister.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. at Good Samaritan Village, 1901 Ptarmigan Trail in Estes Park. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to Prospect Park Living Center, 555 Prospect Avenue, Estes Park, CO 80517. See www.allnutt.com to see Sylvia’s obituary on-line and send a message to the family.

Earl Page, of Barstow, CA, formerly of Illinois, Iowa and Arizona, passed away on May 23, 2008 at the Veterans Home of California, Barstow.

Mr. Page was born September 13th, 1921, in Benton, Illinois, to Charity     (Payne) Page and Logan Fred Page. He grew up in Dixon, Illinois, and graduated from Dixon High School in 1939.

He landed in France during WWII on July 4th, 1944 at 4:00 a.m. with the first operative fighter group that went across France supporting Patton’s tanks eight days after D-Day. He attended both the University of Illinois and Iowa State Teachers’ College on the GI Bill after WWII, and he played varsity football at both schools.  Mr. Page also barnstormed the Middle West with athlete friends during summer vacations, playing baseball in communities that would pay their expenses.

Mr. Page married Phyllis (Peat) Page of Lanark, Illinois (and now Estes Park), on April 3rd, 1947, and he had a long teaching career in Iowa public high schools–Grundy Center, Decorah and then Bettendorf High School for most of the total 36 years. Mr. Page taught science and drivers’ education (receiving a Masters Degree in Safety Education from Arizona State University) and coached football, basketball, baseball, track and golf. He retired to Arizona and then traveled the United States in an RV until health issues landed him in California.

Survivors include three children; daughters Karen Page Crislip (Dr. George) and Paula Peat Page Martin (Brent) both of Estes Park, CO, and son Evan Martin Page of Woodbridge, VA. Mr. Page left seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including Avery Allen Buser of Estes Park.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Page was preceded in death by his sister Evelyn Irene Brauer (Fred), son Michael Dean Page, second wife Marcia Palmer Page and companion Annette B. Zile.

Interment will be in Dixon, Illinois, at a later date with the Trident Society of California in charge of arrangements.

Bob Haines, 86, passed away at home on Monday, May 12, 2008. He was cremated.
He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents were Walter Hunt Haines and Lillian Georgina Haines, both of whom are deceased, as is his only sibling Bill.

Bob made many trips from Omaha to Estes Park from 1945 to 1954, when he succumbed to the beauty of Estes Park and moved here permanently.

Bob graduated from Omaha Technical High School, Omaha, NE in 1939.

His career included house carpenter, blacksmith (making auto springs), mechanic at Ft. Crook, NE during WWII, and his last job before moving to Estes was as a traveling salesman for Graybar Electric, all in Omaha, NE.
Bob moved in Estes Park, Colorado in 1954, where he worked in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) for 24 years. His RMNP career included caretaker at Hidden Valley (1956-67), Park Ranger (1967-1969), and West District (Grand Lake) Naturalist (1969-1980).

Bob was an EMT; participated in many winter and summer rescues and his other duties included fire-fighting and scuba diving.

Bob and his wife Theodora (Teddie) met at Wild Basin Campground in RMNP and were married in Estes Park in 1967.

When Bob retired from the Park Service in 1980 and he built his and Teddie’s home in Estes Park.
Bob’s interests included photography, local history (especially that of Long’s Peak), cross-country skiing/winter survival, first aid, and giving slide shows with his hundreds of Haselblad slides of the Park and the surrounding area.

Bob volunteered as a Red Cross first aid instructor from 1964 to 1975, for RMNP as a guide from 1992 to 1999, and for Prospect Living Center giving slide shows from 1985 to 2004.

Bob is survived by his wife Teddie, of Estes Park, and his Franklin cousins in Texas.

A remembrance service may be scheduled at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Estes Valley Land Trust, P.O. Box 663, Estes Park, CO 80517 or The Alzheimer Association, Colorado Chapter, 455 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203 (http//alz.org/co).

To The Editor:

The 2008 Annual River Cleanup was a BIG success. The event is part of a national campaign to clean debris near rivers, lakes, and streams. The local sponsors are the Town of Estes Park and Estes Valley Recreation and Park District.

Approximately 150 volunteers met at Lake Estes Marina at 9:00 a.m. on May 17 and were sent out to pick up trash at Mary’s Lake, Lake Estes, Fish Creek, Black Canyon Creek, and the Big Thompson River. Volunteers worked two hours picking up trash and then returned to the Marina for a BBQ.

Twenty cubic yards of trash were picked up by the volunteers. A special thanks to Waste Management who donated the dumpster for removal of the trash.

The following service clubs and organizations provided volunteers for the event – Cub Scout Pack 8, Boy Scout Troup 8, Boy Scout Troop 10, Eagle Rock School, Families for Estes, Sunrise Rotary, EVIA, Trout Unlimited-Alpine Anglers, CVB, Carriage Hills Homeowners, Estes Park High School Environmental Club, the Town of Estes Park and EVRPD. In addition, there were many individuals, couples, and families who provided helping hands to make the event a success.

To everyone who volunteered for the event, we say thank you. Your interest in improving the environment and making the community a better place to live is certainly appreciated.
Stan Gengler, Estes Valley Recreation and Park District