Last week, history was re-enacted at MacGregor Ranch when ranch personnel were busy with two teams of horses in the field, cutting, bringing in the hay and stacking it, the ole’ fashioned way.
Eric Adams, Executive Director of MacGregor Ranch supervised the event as they hitched the horses and took the buck rake out into the field to scoop up the hay that had been cut earlier that morning. The team of horses and Ranch Foreman, Brett Rasmussen brought the hay back to the overshot stacker where the load was lifted and then dropped onto the ever-growing stack of hay.

Hay stompers and groomers, Laurel Todd and Kate Hewson, student visitors from the school, had fun packing the hay stack down and then, with the help of Eric Adams, grooming the stack into a cube shape with pitch forks.

MacGregor Ranch believes that each student visiting the Ranch should have a meaningful and quality learning experience and provides its facilities for youth and school groups year round -- working in partnership with teachers and leaders developing a unique curriculum for students. The ranch encourages their student visitors to become “history keepers” who appreciate and study history and who work to preserve the past for future generations.

The mission statement of the Muriel L. MacGregor Charitable Trust is: “To continue operation of the MacGregor Ranch as a high mountain historic working cattle ranch and to support youth education. This mission will be carried out by maintaining the presence of a cattle and horse herd, preservation and interpretation of historic buildings and educational tours. The focus of the Ranch will be on quality experiences through respect for the land, the ranch and its history -- for the future generations of tomorrow’s leaders.”

That mission was carried out on that beautiful day.

Nick Molle

On Saturday night September 27th at 7:00 p.m. the television series “A Walk in the Park” will begin a thirteen week run on Rocky Mountain PBS, KRMA Channel 6. The series, created by local producer Nick Mollé, first aired on Rocky Mountain PBS in September of 2007 and was repeated three times during the fall, winter and spring television seasons. Because of its success across the state of Colorado, it has been added to the PBS schedule for another year in their prime 7:00 p.m. timeslot.

“A Walk in the Park” features several of Nick Mollé Production’s finest works on Rocky Mountain National Park. The series kicks off the first three weeks with “Real Rocky” parts one, two and three which features an in depth, insightful and sometimes tongue in cheek look at the National Park. It is followed by two episodes of “Estes Park, Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park” and then goes on to feature more hiking, wildlife and a climb up Longs Peak. One episode is dedicated to Estes Park’s sister city, Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Rocky Mountain PBS has millions of loyal viewers in Colorado. This is tremendous exposure for the community and business establishments in Estes Park. Television audiences up and down the Front Range in all the major cities will view these shows and be invited to come and share in the beauty and natural wonders that surround Estes Park.

This relationship between RMPBS and Nick Mollé Productions would not be possible without the support of underwriters who contribute to production costs. This year’s underwriters include Rocky Mountain Gateway, The Town of Estes Park and National Park Village. Nick and his staff are extremely grateful to these organizations.

Nick Mollé has operated Nick Mollé Productions and EPTV Channel 8 since 1994. Over the years he and his station manager Jennifer Proffitt have created numerous documentaries quite familiar to Estes Park residents and visitors. Nick has often enlisted the collaborative efforts of his longtime friend and talented Denver producer John Goerner.

In addition to the Rocky Mountains, Nick and John have traveled to many locations in Alaska and Central America to create the series “WildSide with Nick Mollé”. In the spring of 2009 “WildSide” and “A Walk in the Park” will be released to a national PBS audience through American Public Television. More information on the national distribution will be presented in a press release later this year.

Nick says he has been blessed by working with such a talented team, doing what he loves to do with the unending support of his family, while living in this phenomenally inspirational mountain location.

Lee and Jane Whiteley, authors of The Playground Trail, will visit the Estes Park Museum on October 3 for a free public program.

On Friday, October 3, at 7:00 p.m. the Estes Park Museum will host a program by authors Lee and Jane Whiteley based on their book The Playground Trail: To and Through the National Parks of the West.  This program is free to the public and sponsored by the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation, Inc.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

After World War I, Americans were ready to “See America First.” The slogan was used by the newly-created National Park Service to promote automobile travel to the national parks of the West. The National Park-to-Park Highway Association promoted a 5,500 mile-long “auto trail” to and through these twelve national parks.

A dedication tour along the route was held in 1920. Sponsored by the National Park Service and AAA, the media event spotlighted the beauty of the parks plus the pleasures and pitfalls of driving an automobile through the nation’s “playgrounds.”  The Whiteleys, through a slide-illustrated show, will lead the audience along the National Park-to-Park Highway. Visuals include vintage postcards, maps and photographs of A. G. Lucier, the official photographer of the 1920 tour. Present-day photographs will provide “then and now” comparisons.

Lee and Jane Whiteley have authored five books on transportation history in the West, including wagon roads and early automobile highways. The Whiteleys also write for American Road Magazine, whose motto is “Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear . . . and the joys of driving them today.” They are members of the Lincoln Highway Association, Oregon-California Trails Association, Santa Fe Trail Association and the Smoky Hill Trail Association.

The mission of the Estes Park Museum is to collect, interpret and preserve local history, as well as present exhibits, programs and events, for the education and benefit of residents and visitors of all ages. For more information call the Estes Park Museum at 586-6256 or visit the Museum’s website at www.estesnet.com/Museum. The Museum is located at 200 4th Street and is open daily 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. through the month of October. Admission is always free.

Dear Editor:

With the official start of fall this past week, those windy winter days are coming closer and closer. As they approach, I have been mentally preparing a list of available local indoor activities for me and my family.  My list is fairly short, so I am writing to voice my support of the proposed community center. With the incredible opportunities that such a center could provide, we could all look forward to those windy days as much as any others. One of the features of the proposed center that has particular appeal to me is the meeting rooms. The potential uses for these rooms are so numerous, ranging from play groups to continuing education classes to fitness classes and beyond. Furthermore, imagine the added draw of indoor activities to visitors of all ages, particularly in the quieter winter season.

So, please, before you vote in November, visit the Estes Valley Citizens for Community and Recreation website at www.evccr.org for more details on the features of the community center. Consider the benefits that such a place could provide to yourself, your neighbors, and your community, not only on those windy winter days, but in all the seasons here in Estes Park.

Sincerely,
Kelley Lewelling

It is one thing to build a community center.  But where is the money coming from to operate it?

Ballot issue 4C is a mill levy increase to provide operating money for the Recreation District. Included in 4C is $140,000 to operate the community center. Operational expenses for the community center are calculated to be $440,000 annually. The revenues are anticipated to be $300,000 a year. The difference of $140,000 is what taxpayers will contribute to the operation of the community center.  The mill levy,  unlike the bond, operates continuously.

What happens if $140,000 is not enough to operate the community center? Will the Recreation board come back to ask for more?

The portfolio used to generate expenses and revenues is conservative just so this situation would not likely occur. It is based on staffing and utility data from current operations and other similar operations. By law, elected boards have to ask voters for increases in taxes. Should $140,000 be inadequate in the near term, it seems highly likely that the board would make operational and budgetary adjustments rather than ask voters for additional funds.

What is included in the proposed mill levy increase (4C)?

Two-thirds of the mill levy is for expanding programs:  $140,000 to operate the new community center, as stated above;  $175,000 for trail development (and maintenance). The remaining one-third or $158,000 will support existing programs and on-going maintenance.  These include $40,000 to pay the District’s increased share of the operational expenses at the current Aquatic Center; on-going maintenance projects at Stanley Park such as resurfacing tennis and basketball courts, fencing and shelter repairs; pine beetle abatement and replanting trees lost to the pine beetle; and putting the district’s $1.5M vehicle and maintenance equipment on a 20 year rotational basis.

How much will the mill levy increase cost?

For every $100,000 value of a home, the cost is $0.80 per month, or $9.60 per year.

I like the community center but not some of the other items in the bond issue (4C).  What are the other parts of the bond and what will they cost me?

Clearly the largest part of the bond is the construction of the Community Center. The Community Center will cost $12.6 million of bond funds to build or 85 percent of the $14.9 bond total. The remaining $2.3 million will be used to:

1). provide $1.1 million in infrastructure replacement and upgrades at the current Aquatic Center. The school district made some improvements last year but there are $1.1 million in needed improvements to replace worn out and inefficient heating and ventilation systems, provide energy efficient lighting, a handicap lift and electrical work.

2). An additional $742,000 will be used to replace the irrigation system at the Lake Estes nine-hole golf course. This system is over 25 years old. It wastes water and parts for the system are no longer manufactured.

3). $360,000 will be used to replace four restrooms around Lake Estes with ADA compliant restrooms.

4.) The final $100,000 will be used to put in an accessible toilet at the District’s gun range and to build new backstops to better collect lead projectiles.
The bond is equivalent to a mortgage and in this case, sunsets after twenty years. The cost to the taxpayer for the total bond is $2.72 per month for each $100,000 home value. For each $100,000 home value the cost per month for each of the smaller components in the bond is as follows: replacing the irrigation system at the nine hole golf course, $0.09 per month, or  $1.14 per year; Aquatic Center infrastructure improvements $0.14 per month, or $1.70 per year; providing four ADA compliant restrooms around Lake Estes, $0.05 per month or $0.60 per year; and for improvements at the gun range, $0.007 per month or $0.08 per year.

Harvest House for Women executive director Bob Vigil, second from right, and operations manager Bobby Vigil accept a donation from Debra Dullaghan, left, and Anne Smith, owners of Rocky Card, Inc.

Harvest House for Women in Estes Park became the second major donation recipient from Rocky Card, Inc. on September 23. Rocky Card owners Debra Dullaghan and Anne Smith were pleased to present the transitional housing program for women and children with $1,000 and Harvest House executive director Bob Vigil was happy to receive it.

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