Tuesday, May 28

The Green Mountain Falls Board of Trustees will host a meet and greet with the finalist for the new town manager position on May 28. The meeting will be held at the GMF Town Hall at 5 p.m. (see related story in this week’s TMJ).   

Wednesday, May 29

The Ute Pass-Woodland Park Kiwanis Club will meet on Wednesdays at 6:45 a.m. in the Crystola Roadhouse in Crystola.   

TSC (Teller Senior Coalition) Transit is excited to announce our bus service on Wednesdays and Fridays in Woodland Park and the lower Ute Pass area. TSC also offers a joint venture with Cripple Creek Transit on Wednesdays to provide much needed transportation service between Cripple Creek and Woodland Park. TSC Transit will be picking up from the Senior Center and will be making stops at Pikes Peak Family Medicine, Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, City Market, Safeway, Walgreens, Walmart and the Department of Social Services upon request. In addition, new ride services are available on a limited basis to Green Mountain Falls, Cascade and Manitou Springs. Call 719-687-0256 for more details or visit the TSC website at www.tellerseniorcoalition.org. for a full schedule of pick up and drop off time   . 

Thursday, May 30

Tops, Take Off Pounds Sensibly. The original nonprofit weight-loss group is an educational support group providing weekly weigh-ins and programs to help members to make positive changes in the role food plays in their lives. The local chapter meets every Thursday at 9 a.m. in Green Mountain Falls at the Church in the Wildwood. Call Evelyn at 719-748-8383 for more information.

Summer Camp. May is the last month of school, and has a full week of the Cripple Creek Parks and Recreation’s KRU Summer Camp! Our trip this month, first trip of summer will be on THURSDAY May 30th, to the Cripple Creek & Victor train, and then down to Woodland Park to swim! Activity fee $5, plus the daily fee of $15 for the first child, and $12 each for additional siblings. Please note: Summer continues our full day sign up sheets, where we need at least 10 kids to open, but can take no more than 30 kids. If you sign up, we are saving your child’s spot, and if they are a no call/no show, you will still be charged a daily fee. If you’ve signed your child up for a day they will no longer be attending, please call us as soon as possible so we can open up the spot. For more information, call 719-689-3514.

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Saturday, June 1

Golden Meadows Dog Park Grand Opening. Woodland Park’s first dog park will officially open on June 1 at the Meadow Wood Sports Complex, 200 Evergreen Heights Drive in Woodland Park (just past the fire station). A ribbon cutting will occur at 9 a.m. with a “Ninja” themed casual dog walk from 9 to 11 a.m. In addition, a variety of festivities, with food, fun and live music will take place throughout the day. For more information, call 719-687-5225.

Manitou Springs Wine Festival. Scheduled for June 1 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spend your day in Manitou Springs enjoying generous tastings from 30 Colorado wineries. Stroll through Memoria Park in historic Manitou Springs listening to live music, while enjoying food and gift vendors. Gates close at 4 p.m. Ticket price includes admission to wine tasting and a Manitou Springs Wine Festival glass. For more information, contact the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce/Visitors Bureau & Office of Economic Development, or call 719-685-5089 or visitwww.manitousprings.org.

Fossil Beds Activities.  The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Florissant is open year-round. The Monument is now open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There also are a number of special programs, guided hikes and educational opportunities during the weekend.

Throughout the day, a variety of ranger-guided activities will be offered including interpretive talks, ranger-guided talks, tours of the Hornbek Homestead, and Fossil Learning lab.  Please call (719) 748-3253 ext. 202 for times. Here are some highlights of future programs: *Friday, June 7, Night Sky Program, 8:30 PM – 10:30 PM.  Join park staff and members of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society to gaze at the dark skies above Florissant Fossil Beds in search of planets, galaxies, nebulas, and more. Meet at the visitor center. *Science Open House and Junior Ranger Day Saturday, June 29, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Learn about the ongoing research taking place at Florissant Fossil Beds including geology, paleontology, biology, hydrology, botany, astronomy and much more. In addition, the Fossil Beds will now have many daily programs, including: *Ranger Guided Walk at 11 a.m. along a 1 mile guided hike on the Petrified Forest Trail. *Fossil Learning Lab, Every Day 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Learn how scientists discover and research fossils in the Yurt *Hornbek Homestead, Saturdays and Sundays,  11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Take a tour of an 1878 homestead. *Interpretive Talk, Saturdays and Sundays,  10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thirty minute interpretive presentation in the amphitheater.

Mueller Hikes and Activities. The smell of a campfire and the echoing song of a hermit thrush await visitors at Mueller State Park in summer. Naturalists and volunteers at Mueller love to share the wonder and science of all the living things at the park.  Programs in June will highlight local wildlife, favorite flowers, unique features and local history at the park. Choose from the many types of programs offered including guided hikes, children’s programs, evening amphitheater programs, bird watching, fly-fishing, archery and much more!  Of special interest is our Thursday night series of history of the Pikes Peak region with Paul Thies.  Each Thursday, will be a new program on a different time and people including Native Americans, early explorers, military, fur traders, mining and railroads – all in the Pikes Peak region! Outdoor Skills Day, a favorite annual event set for June 22, is great fun for the whole family!  Thirty different activities designed to give visitors a taste of various kinds of outdoor recreation including fishing, target shooting with shotguns, 22,  and archery, bird watching, outdoor cooking, Bear Aware and so much more!  Receive expert instruction from Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff, Hunter Education instructors and conservation organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Pheasants Forever. We are very grateful to all our partners who help provide a great, fun and safe family event. We also have regular guided hikes, mostly on the weekends. Check our websitecpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Mueller or call ahead for conditions (719) 687-2366.

Upcoming

Assessor Office Update. The Teller County Assessor’s website has been updated to assist citizens and property owners with ease of access.  Please go to  http://www.co.teller.co.us/Assessor/default.aspx  The website consists of updated links, videos, and appeal process information.  If you have questions / comments, please call 719-689-2941 or visit the office at 101 W. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, CO 80813.”

Ute Pass-Woodland Park Kiwanis Bingo. Join the fun at the Crystola Roadhouse during the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Twenty dollars buys a packet for 10 games, 6 cards for each game It’s a great opportunity to have fun and socialize with your friends and neighbors. Come early and have dinner! Food and drinks will be available for purchase during the games!  This event is sponsored by the Ute Pass-Woodland Park Kiwanis club.  The proceeds benefit the children of Teller County.

Woodland Park Community Singers. Come Sing With Us!!  Rehearsals are every Monday from 6:30-8:30 pm at 1310 Evergreen Heights Dr., WP (Faith Lutheran Church).  No auditions, no age limit, over 18 anyhow!!  All you need is a love of singing and music! WPCSingers is a non-profit group composed of various ages of folks who LOVE to sing!  We perform all around Teller, Park and El Paso Counties.  For more information, call Melissa Mellen at 620-482-2017.

Registration for MADD (Music, Art, Drama and Dance) will occur from April 28 through June 2. The actual camp dates are June 10-14, 9 a.m. to noon; Mondays through Thursdays 9-4 and after services on Sundays at the Impact Christian Church, 27400 N. Hwy. 67. For questions and more information, call 719-235-7144.

Golfing for a good cause. A Spring Break-out Golf Tournament will be held at the Shining Mountain Golf Course on Monday, June 3, starting at 9 a.m. The fourth annual tournament will benefit the Little Chapel Food Pantry, which provides over 600,000 pounds of food to needy families on an annual basis. The Food Pantry is operated by many volunteers in the area. The popular tourney will feature a 4-person scramble format, and will include a golf cart and lunch. In addition, a silent auction will occur and door prizes will be given away. Get “teed off” for a good cause. For more information and to register, call Joe Joe Baumgardner at 405-488-5954.   

A Concert of Heavenly Stories and Songs. Come and be inspired by a truly unique and beautiful concert experience, “Encounters with Heaven,” presented by Heavenly Harp music ministry The free concert s scheduled for June 10 at 7 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church Sanctuary at 1515 North Cascade Avenue, in Colorado Springs. Harpist/vocalist/storyteller Karin Gunderson and vocalist Amanda Pace take their audience on a journey that deeply touches hearts, as they interweave elegant harp music and vocal harmonies with true stories.  Karin and Amanda’s repertoire includes beautiful renditions of peaceful Christian music, beloved hymns, and popular favorites like “What a Wonderful World” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” For more information, call 719-447-6068.  

Gem and Mineral Show. The annual Gem & Mineral Show sponsored by the Southern Teller County Focus Group (STCFG) in Victor, Colorado will be held June 14-16. The event will be held in downtown historic Victor and is open and free to the public.The show will include vendors from across the state selling Colorado dug minerals. Items for sale will include polished gems, hand-crafted jewelry, rough slabs, specimens, cabochons, geode breaking, Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District gold ore specimens, Cripple Creek turquoise, and more. There will also be gold and gem panning at the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum. Show hours are from 9 to 5 each day.  This year a geologist from Newmont Mining Corporation will make a presentation on the geology of the gold mining district. This free presentation will be held Saturday, June 15 at 1 p.m. at the Victor Elks Lodge. For more information on the STCFG or this event, visit VictorColorado.com, email info@stcfg.com, or call 719-689-2675.

A Walk Through Time. The Southern Teller County Focus Group (STCFG) will be hosting a second round of its May historic mine tour, A Walk Through Time, on Saturday, July 13. The hike will feature a walking tour of the Vindicator Valley Trail just north of Victor. The cost is $15 per person with proceeds benefiting the non-profit STCFG.Victorite Gary Horton will provide history and tales of the underground mines of the 1890s, starting the Vindicator Mine and ending at the Theresa Mine. This is a walking tour (in the downhill direction). Participants will carpool to the upper mine site, walk to the Theresa and carpool back up or hike back up to the Vindicator Mine.For the tour, meet at the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum at 3^rd and Victor Avenue in Victor no later than 12:30 on May 18. All participants will be required to sign waivers. This tour is very popular and advance, pre-paid reservations are recommended online at STCFG.com. The morning of July 13 at 10 a.m. the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum will host a walking tour the Sunnyside Cemetery. See VictorColorado.com for information and reservations for that tour.For more information on the STCFG or this event, visit VictorColorado.com, email stcfg@victorcolorado.com, or call 719-689-2675