Ute Pass Evacuation Exercise
Mid-morning on Saturday, Oct. 7, doorbells rang and Peak Alert notifications went off in the Ute Pass area. Green Mountain Falls and the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management staged a practice of emergency response procedures for GMF, Chipita Park and Cascade residents.
First responders participated in a “boots on the ground” practice to familiarize themselves with the area’s maze of roads as well as emergency response procedures. Residents were able to see a model emergency shelter as well as talk with regional representatives speaking about crisis response.
In the event of an emergency, Ute Pass Elementary will become an American Red Cross warming center that people can gather in for a short period of time. The Church in the Wildwood will serve as an American Red Cross shelter for people needing a place overnight.
The response to emergency situations is on peoples’ hearts and minds as fires abound and emergencies present themselves in ways unpredicted by the past. Nick Donzello, Green Mountain Falls Board Trustee and liaison to the fire mitigation committee, said that the exercise was, “absolutely successful,” instilling “confidence of the community in their first responders, that we are taking this seriously [and] doing everything we can possibly do.”
He thinks that next steps may be to identify block captains and/or to encourage a “neighbors helping neighbors” approach to crisis response.
For more information and to register for Peak Alerts, go to www.elpasoteller911.org and scroll down to Peak Alerts Sign Up.
Fall Hikers, Be Forewarned
In an effort to keep all hikers safe, Colorado Springs Utilities, U.S. Forest Service, Green Mountain Falls and the city of Colorado Springs are managing trail closures as work begins on South Catamount Reservoir. If you’re hiking Catamount Trail out of Green Mountain Falls, the trail past the wooden bridge at the end of the Garden of Eden meadow to the reservoirs will be closed as of Oct. 16 and into the foreseeable future.
The northwest trails of North Catamount reservoir will still be accessible through the trail system at the end of Edlowe Road in Woodland Park. Information: Lisa Walters, source water project manager of Colorado Springs Utilities, 719-668-7765.
An Autumnal Egg Hunt?
Area residents needn’t go far to come upon autumnal treasures! In Green Mountain Falls, among the golden aspens, you may come upon “Ovum,” a sculptural discovery amidst the maze of trails on the 95 acres of the Wallace Preserve. Nikki Pike of Denver crafted it in spring 2023 as part of her Green Box artist-in-residency; this treasure aspires upward, guiding the seer to behold the open sky, trees and granite ridges beyond.
Covered and textured in ponderosa pine bark, “Ovum” calls us to reflect on the importance of form and on the impact of human environmental manipulation. Pike titled the structure to honor the strength and power of women today.
Visitors can park at the small dirt lot near Fountain Creek in Green Mountain Falls just east of the lake. Then cross the street and walk up Mountain Road to find the Wallace Preserve trailhead. Follow the small Green Box signs to “Ovum.”
Sisters Helping Sisters
Sisters Helping Sisters formed in January 2018 as a service-focused ministry of Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls, bringing girls, women, neighbors and friends together to make feminine hygiene kits for Days for Girls International. The mission is to “… shatter the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation so that women and girls have improved health, education and livelihoods.”
Sisters Helping Sisters members have contributed more than 1,500 components to hygiene kits that have been distributed throughout the world. No experience is necessary to join this local sisterhood! All materials are supplied, and patterns are simple to follow with easy instructions. The next gathering is 4:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Church in the Wildwood, 10585 Ute Pass Ave., Green Mountain Falls. Soup is provided. Information: jane.scanlon6@gmail.com.