The Falcon Area Issues Roundtable met April 26 at the Falcon Fire Protection District station. The group discussed a variety of topics in the forefront of Falcon politics.State Representative Douglas BruceRep. Doug Bruce attended the FAIR meeting and defended his recent statements made on the floor of the House of Representatives about temporary visas. House Bill 1325, sponsored by fellow Republican Marsha Looper, would establish a five-year pilot program to expedite temporary visas for seasonal farm workers.Bruce opposes the bill, claiming workers come for temporary work but stay indefinitely. He defended his choice of words – “illiterate peasants” – as an accurate description of people seeking temporary visas regardless of their country of origin.Bruce also addressed the issue of Corral Bluffs. He said he opposed the off-highway vehicle park while he served as county commissioner. He offered the only dissenting vote when plans for the park came before the commission last year.Unlike many of the opponents of the park, Bruce said he isn’t outraged over noise levels or environmental impact. He said he simply doesn’t believe that it is the government’s job to provide recreational parks.Corral BluffsJackie Hilaire, representing the Corral Bluffs Alliance, led a presentation and discussion on the current plans for an OHV park in Corral Bluffs. She showed slides of the area and talked about its archeological and historical importance.Questions from the audience focused on funding for the proposed park. El Paso County commissioners and the parks department state the park will not be paid with tax money, but opponents have disputed the veracity of this claim.Hilaire said that while county monies collected through sales and property taxes will not be used to create the OHV park, the county plans to use money collected from developers, lottery funds and OHV sticker fees.Puppy millsKathleen Wallace addressed the FAIR attendees about the sale of puppies in the Safeway parking lot. She said she is concerned about the treatment and breeding of the animals for sale. Wallace invited anyone interested in advocating humane treatment of these animals to contact her.FAIR meetings are held the last Saturday of each month. For more information about issues discussed at the FAIR meeting, e-mail info@falconroundtable.org or visit www.falconroundtable.org.
