 Pastoral and urban scenes from 2015... Bighorns from the Rampart Herd forage near the former mining"scar" on a hillside north of the Garden of the Gods, The Garden's Visitor & Nature Center will host its 11th annual Bighorn Day Saturday, Feb. 13. (See STORY, Page 16.) Westside Pioneer photo
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While it's impossible to ignore that horrific incident in November, the Westside Pioneer preference is to not let one cowardly incident define 2015 by giving it the top position in our Westside Stories of the Year.
That honor instead goes in a dead heat to the I-25 interchange projects at Cimarron and Fillmore streets, both of which are designed to improve east-west traffic flow in their respective corridors.
1. (tie) - Cimarron interchange and Fillmore interchange at I-25. Both started in 2015 (Fillmore in February, Cimarron in May) and have been in full swing since last summer.
At the end of 2015:
- Fillmore's two new bridges were built, although the north bridge can't be opened to traffic until there's a stretch of spring-like warm weather to allow the final paving. Other major work still to come is demolishing the remainder of the original bridge from about 1960 - half of which was cut lengthwise last fall to make room for the new north bridge. Work to extend the northbound on-ramp and southbound off-ramp is also continuing. Project completion is planned this summer (June, if the weather cooperates).
- Cimarron crews are reworking Fountain Creek between Monument Creek and Eighth Street, rebuilding project-affected trails, developing a new southbound off-ramp, clearing space to the west for the wider new interchange and leveling the one-time hotel site southeast of Cimarron/ Eighth in preparation for a traffic-lightening “shortcut” to allow some traffic to bypass that intersection. Project completion is planned in December 2017.
 Overnight work has been a daily affair in the project to build a new Cimarron/I-25 interchange. This dirt-hauling and grading activity - part of work to build a new southbound off-ramp - was photographed from the north side of Cimarron Street one evening after midnight in December. Westside Pioneer photo
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3. The shooting. For more than five hours on snowy Nov. 27, a single man with a rifle terrorized the Planned Parenthood building in the commercial/office center off Centennial Boulevard, north of Fillmore Street.
According to authorities, Robert Dear's first shots were fired at people in the building, then at law enforcement officers who entered the building to stop him. By the time Dear was taken alive, he had killed one officer (Garrett Swasey of the UCCS Police) and two citizens (Jennifer Markovsky and Ke'Arre Stewart). The onslaught also resulted in gunshot wounds to five other officers and four civilians, plus non-gunshot injuries to three additional officers. All have recovered. Dear has been charged with murder, but no trial date has been set. Based on court actions, a key issue to be resolved is Dear's competency to stand trial.
4. Chestnut Street bridge collapse. On Aug. 10, a hole appeared in the street's northbound lane. Within hours, as the gap spread across both lanes, the city shut down Chestnut at that location (just north of Vondelpark Drive). The street remains closed there and is expected to stay that way until October, by which time repairs are to be completed. The problem occurred because technically Chestnut is a bridge at that location, with the road on top of 30 feet of compacted dirt over a failing pipe that was carrying the flow of Douglas Creek. The resulting seepage caused the dirt to collapse under the road. In the planned, new bridge configuration, the creek under Chestnut will flow through a concrete culvert that has greater flow capacity and includes room for a trail underpass.
5. Penrose-St. Francis plan. City Council voted in November to greenlight a large, new Penrose-St. Francis hospital complex on Centennial Boulevard, north of Fillmore Street, across from the commercial center that includes King Soopers. No development is expected for a few years, but the Centennial hospital will eventually take over the acute-care responsibility from Penrose's North Cascade Avenue hospital… and change the skyline on that part of the Mesa. See story at the top of this page.
 Yes, the Mt. Carmel Center of Excellence is open, providing services to military veterans - despite the exterior construction work at 530 Communication Circle. (The current entrance is in the back.) Westside Pioneer photo
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6. Land - construction. A Westside construction/ remodeling spree was noted in our 2014 Stories of the Year, and it continued through 2015. Here are the most prominent projects:
Mt. Carmel - Although exterior enhancements are continuing, various military-veteran services/programs began being offered by the privately sponsored Mt. Carmel Center of Excellence in 2015 as a result of extensive renovations inside the 16,000-square-foot, two-story building at 530 Communication Circle.
Mainstreet project - Completion is expected by February on this transitional care/assisted living facility on Fillmore Street across from Coronado High School. When the 84,000-square-foot, two-story complex opens, the operator will be the Ensign Group, which offers similar care in several states. Development of the 7.6-acre site has been under way since late 2014.
Humane Society addition - Work started in June on a two-story, 13,145-square-foot addition at the north end of the current building at 610 Abbott Lane (off South Eighth Street). Completion is anticipated by summer 2016. The space will provide additional dog kennels, a cat adoption area and increased admissions space.
Gold Hill Mesa - Close to 300 homes have been built over the past 10 years in the 210-acre development off 21st Street, Highway 24 and Lower Gold Camp Road, with most of the current construction on Filings 4 and 5 off Lower Gold Camp. Work in early 2016 will include the connection of Gold Hill's Eclipse Drive to 21st Street.
Woodspring Suites - a 124-unit “extended-stay” hotel at 3350 N. Chestnut St., opened in August. With kitchens in every unit, the facility encourages tenants who rent for longer periods than just a night.
 A city paving crew fixes a pothole-ridden segment of Uintah Street west of 19th Street last May. In the November 2015 election, Colorado Springs voters approved a .62-percent sales tax (lasting from 2016 to 2020) to accelerate road improvements. Westside Pioneer photo
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Cerberus Brewing Company - With City Council's rezoning approval in September, Cerberus owners plan to renovate this year a vacant building (a former animal hospital) into a brewpub on a currently unused 9,250-square-foot property at 702 W. Colorado Ave.
Calvary Worship Center expansion - City Council overruled Planning Com-mission, giving the growing Westside church the necessary zoning to move forward with a major expansion on its 5˝ acre property off King and 30th streets. Phase 1 is to create a new parking lot just east of the main site, above Wilhelmia and Williamette avenues.
22 Spruce Apartments - A 46-unit, four-story apartment complex is proposed on a currently unused half-acre rectangle of property on the west side of Spruce Street between Pikes Peak Avenue and Kiowa Street. A public hearing is scheduled before the City Planning Commission Jan. 21.
“Knoll” property - A roughly 60-foot-high, flat-topped knoll near the top of Fillmore Hill could be reduced to half its height sometime in the future, should plans for office development there come to fruition. The 10.8-acre site is west of Centennial Boulevard, across from the Lindstrom Veterans Clinic. The city approved the necessary zone change in 2015. No development is currently planned, according to a member of the ownership group.
  Before and after photos on the Foothills Trail in the Garden of the Gods... LEFT: Flooding caused by continuous rains in May overflowed and undercut concrete slabs where the trail once ran next to Camp Creek. RIGHT: In August, a cyclist follows the new City Parks alignment, in which about 1,000 feet of the Garden segment north of Gateway Road has been relocated to higher ground. The trail was closed from May to August while the repair work was under way. The current asphalt surface is meant to be temporary. Westside Pioneer photos
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8. Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center. Renovated and expanded, the center marked its 20-year anniversary with a major renovation that was completed in May. New and/or upgraded are the building entrances, the exhibits (most of them interactive), interior stairway, cafeteria, gift shop (consolidated from two locations into one) and theater. Located at 1850 N. 30th St., by the eastern (Gateway Road) access to the internationally popular, city-owned park, the center is owned and operated by the Garden of the Gods Foundation, which donates a large percentage of its customer revenues to park maintenance.
9. No Man's Land project. Work is scheduled to start in the latter half of 2016 for this long-planned intergovernmental project to reshape the Colorado Avenue corridor between 31st Street and Manitou's Highway 24 interchange. (See story, Page 3.)
10. Road improvement tax. A city-supported ballot issue for road work gained overwhelming support from Colorado Springs voters in the November municipal election. Issue 2C, sets a .62 percent sales tax from 2016 to 2020, with revenues dedicated to road upgrades. The Westside streets tentatively scheduled for this year are 19th/King, 26th, Chestnut, Ridge, Rio Grande and all those in the Garden of the Gods. “The city will launch a new webpage in mid-January where residents can learn more about road improvement projects, revenues and program oversight,” a recent press release states.
11. Silver Key move begins. After nearly 30 years on the Westside, Silver Key Senior Services plans to relocate in 2016 to a building complex that the nonprofit purchased on the east side, in the 1600 block of South Murray Boulevard. Although a definite date has not been determined, a key part of the move has already occurred: In September, Silver Key opened a large kitchen at the new campus. The 4,000-square-foot area is handling all food preparation chores for the Golden Circle and Meals on Wheels programs that Silver Key manages.
12. Spring flooding. The region's non-stop rains in April and May led to millions of dollars in damage and a federal disaster being declared. On the Westside, flooding forced lengthy closures of Red Rock Canyon Open Space (six weeks) and a mile of the Foothills Trail north of Gateway Road in the Garden of the Gods (3 ˝ months). Instead of rebuilding some of the collapsed trail sections beside Camp Creek, the city rebuilt them on higher ground. City projects and at least a dozen volunteer workdays were needed at Red Rock. And the work there is not done. Fixes to lingering drainage problems are planned this year, a City Parks spokesperson said.
13. Old Colorado City two-lane plan. A proposal to neck down Colorado Avenue to two lanes through Old Town has been blessed by City Transportation Manager Kathleen Krager. The restriping, which would include diagonal parking (either reverse or forward), is tentatively planned in 2016, but a public meeting will be held first, Krager said. The idea has been promoted by representatives of Old Colorado City businesses and property owners for nearly a decade as a way of slowing down avenue traffic and making the historic commercial center between 24th and 27th streets more of a destination than a pass-through.
 Rain-drenched vendors from local businesses battle the elements while setting up their tents during the Taste of OCC event in Bancroft Park April 26, sponsored by the Old Colorado City Foundation. Despite the weather, the event still drew a few hundred people - including some who bought tickets that day - as a fundraiser for park improvements. About 40 businesses in all donated food and drink to support the event. Westside Pioneer photo
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14. Bancroft Park improvements. The Old Colorado City Foundation (OCCF) continued its efforts to raise funds for improvements to benefit the historic shopping district. The first goal is new restrooms in the 1-acre city park at 24th Street and Colorado Avenue. A charitable offshoot of the Old Colorado City Associates business group, the OCCF has organized four large eat-and-drink fundraisers in Bancroft since 2013. The last of these was the third annual Taste of OCC in April. Despite constant rain, hundreds attended. The OCCF now has about $35,000 in the bank, according to its founder, Dave Van Ness, but with restroom costs estimated at $185,000, it is seeking increased City Parks cooperation.
15. Library mural. Participation by dozens of volunteers and several Westside entities helped the Old Colorado City Library and contractor Concrete Couch complete a tile mural at the back of the library parking lot. The brainchild of Library Manager Jocelyne Sansing, the project combined more than
 K8e (pronounced KAY-tee) Orr of Concrete Couch talks to volunteers during a tile-installing day last spring for the ramp-wall mural in the back of the Old Colorado City Library parking lot (#15 in the Pioneer's Stories of the Year). Westside Pioneer photo
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16. Old Colorado City History Center. The Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS), the volunteer nonprofit that owns and manages the center at 1 S. 24th St., tried some new things this year. Not only did they prove popular, according to society leaders, but they helped produce a record year financially. The efforts included replacing the traditional, annual Cemetery Crawl and Holiday Tour events with the Haunted Histories Tour and Holiday Open House, respectively; plus, adding the summer Tunnel Tours. (Also see the story on this page.)
 Charlease Elzenga demonstrates a spinning wheel during the Holiday Open House Dec. 5 at the Old Colorado City History Center. Westside Pioneer photo
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17. In memoriam. Four well-known Westsiders passed away in 2015. Probably the most prominent was retired Army Major Henry “Duke” Boswell, a World War II veteran (who fought at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge) and Korea, taught at Whittier Elementary for 15 years and later spoke regularly about his experiences with schools and other groups. Other Westsiders who will be missed are T.J. McGinty, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who personally flew supplies to Haitian poor on numerous occasions; Tom Hendrix, a World War II veteran and long-time community service volunteer; and Ron Baalman, co-owner of multiple Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores, including the one in Old Colorado City.
18. Panhandlers/transients. Different strategies were used to address the matter of beggars on public right-of-ways. Free-speech-oriented legal threats from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) forced the city to throw out several old ordinances. Currently, for example, panhandlers can legally stand with signs on road medians or make repeated requests of people who say no. A proposed ordinance to curtail sitting or lying on sidewalks is being scaled back by its City Council proponents, who believe less severity is in line with public opinion. Meanwhile, the informal Avenue Task Force (consisting of law enforcement representatives and Westside citizens) is disseminating materials urging people to give to charities instead of beggars because direct recipients are likely to use handouts to fund alcohol or drug addictions.
 Worried about lack of regulation, City Council has put moratoriums on new or relocated cannabis clubs, where people can go to smoke pot together (like this one on 30th Street), and medical marijuana stores. Westside Pioneer photo
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19. Medical marijuana moratorium. Led by District 1 City Council-member Don Knight, City Council in November passed a six-month moratorium freezing the processing of applications for MMJ stores or social clubs that want to open or relocate. A key goal is to reconsider current laws that let such facilities open anywhere that has commercial zoning, without allowing the public an opportunity to offer objections. An example in 2015 was when an MMJ shop opened in a prominent storefront across from Bancroft Park in Old Colorado City despite some family-friendly concerns.
“I believe these moratoriums will give us the opportunity to review city codes and to create processes that are fair for all parties involved,” Knight summarized in a Westside Pioneer guest column.
20. Midland Trail links. The city built two connections to the Midland Trail in 2015. One of these, which includes a new pedestrian/ bicycle bridge over Fountain Creek at 31st Street, links the north-south Foothills Trail (which also goes past the Garden of the Gods, Rock Ledge Ranch and Pleasant Valley) to the east-west Midland Trail through the Westside. The other project was a 50-foot concrete “shortcut” to and from the Midland Trail and the northeast corner of 26th Street and Highway 24. Supported by local bicycling advocates, both projects were funded through a city tax that charges $4 on the sale of each new bicycle.
Honorable mention: After a decade of work with the National Association of Counties (NACo), Sallie Clark, a Westside resident, businesswoman and three-term El Paso County commissioner, started a one-year term as its president in July… John Suthers was elected in May to a four-year term as Colorado Springs mayor. His first mayoral advocacy, supported by City Council, was the road improvement tax (see Story of the Year #10)… In January, the city pulled down a barb-wire-topped fence that had enclosed the 19th Street stormwater-detention pond for roughly half a century and opened it to public use… The Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site added a working windmill in April - although high winds recently blew off its wheel and tail assembly. Ranch manager Andy Morris said repairs are in the works… Local grower Marc Sawtelle entered the heaviest giant pumpkin (1,338 pounds) in the 11-year history of the Old Colorado City Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off... Chuck Green's life-size, sword-waving pirate sculpture that once personified the Pike Elementary Pirate mascot (from 1993 to its 2009 closure) has found a new home - as a Russell Middle School Raider.
Westside Pioneer article