Rumors

• FRANKIE’S TOO IS OPENING. (By the time the NFH goes to press, this rumor will be fact.)

Facts

• The Safeway gas station in Falcon, with a 25-mile radius draw, is the No. 1 most profitable Safeway gas station in the nation.
• Annexations – Under the NFH “rumors” column last month, it was mentioned that the city of Colorado Springs is annexing a portion of eastern El Paso County, with boundaries somewhere between Marksheffel Boulevard and Woodmen Road, to include the Woodmen Heights area, from Mustang Road to Black Forest Road. True, said a county official.
• Meanwhile, another city annexation is in the works. Just so we keep the facts straight – please read the following information taken directly from the county Web site: Request by the city of Colorado Springs on behalf of Capital Pacific Holdings to waive the Annexation Impact Report for seven annexations encompassing 469.7 acres related to the Banning-Lewis Ranch property. These consist of a portion of the former Rock Island Railroad right-of-way, along with various parcels that were not annexed as part of the original 1988 annexation of this 24,000-acre ranch. The parcels are at various locations along the eastern boundary of the City of Colorado Springs.
• Building FYI: Also from the county Web site: Request by Randle Case, Sr. to rezone 646 acres from the RR-3 (Rural Residential) District to the RR-2 (Rural Residential) District to allow for a subdivision. The property is in the Falcon area, southwest of the intersection of Stapleton Drive and Towner Avenue. It is in both the Black Forest Preservation Plan and Falcon/Peyton Comprehensive Plan areas. Schedule No. 52000-00-242. The planning commission approved unanimously with conditions and notations.
• Sulfur smells. In the RUMORS column last month, a caller informed us that he and some of his neighbors were experiencing increased sulfur smells, so the NFH checked it out. Mike Finch, owner of Affordable Water Services, a water treatment company, said underground digging and an ample amount of rain are two reasons homeowners might smell sulfur. “The drilling shakes up the ground and stirs up the water going into the individual wells, and, if they are hitting a layer of shale, there will be sulfur coming through,” Finch said.The smell can be temporary or permanent, and it may come and go, he added. There are solutions. Finch said a Centaur carbon filter system will help combat the sulfur smell as well as oxidizers or iron oxidizers.
• Never underestimate the power of ONE
  • In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
  • In 1649, one vote caused King Charles I of England to be executed.
  • In 1776, one vote gate America the English language instead of German.
  • First Thomas Jefferson and then John Quincy Adams were elected by one -vote margins in the Electoral College.
  • In 1845, one vote’s difference brought Texas into the Union.
  • In 1868, President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment was defeated by one vote
  • In 1923, Adolf Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party by a one-vote edge.
  • John F. Kennedy’s margin of victory over Richard Nixon in 1960 was less than one vote per precinct.

Historical Facts
-By Don Cronkhite,The Prairie JewelIn 1860, Colorado was a state directly in the path of westward expansion. Before the railroads, forts were built for military purposes, as well as trading posts, gathering places and protection from Indians. Most forts had names of men of the time, like Bents Fort and Ft. Lupton.At one time, there were more than 60 named forts in Colorado. Freemont’s Fort was a makeshift fort located on top of a flat-topped butte, approximately 14 miles northwest of Calhan. In 1842, General Freemont and his men were trapped on the butte by a group of Indians.For several days, the standoff continued until one night a single man escaped off the butte and made his way to Denver for help. Unable to get a horse, he walked all the way to Denver. The butte was subsequently named Freemont’s Fort.General Freemont continued to make four more expeditions to Colorado in 1840s; thus, becoming an important explorer of Colorado and the west.