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Throughout Saturday, July 3, more than 500 people attended the Falcon Freedom Days and Festival, the mostly annual event held to commemorate Independence Day. The corner of Meridian Ranch Blvd and Stapleton Drive became the place to bring your family for an hour or two of games, food and music.

The celebration provided a continuous supply of entertainment throughout the day. It began with a pancake breakfast and Rodders Car Show at Woodmen Hills Rec Center East. At 9, kids decorated their bikes then set off on a parade from the rec center to the festival grounds at Stapleton Drive and Meridian Ranch Blvd. At the edge of the festival grounds, runners competed in 1K and 5K runs.

Kids decorated their bikes for the bike parade

By 9 a.m., nearly 70 vendor booths were open for business and offered a variety of products and services such as construction, roofing, auto repair, real estate, makeup, candles and jewelry. Many offered giveaways and door prizes. Games and competitions during the event included a speed stacker competition, watermelon eating, chicken dance, Macarena, and Hokey Pokey contests. Prizes were awarded to who had the longest hair and who had the shortest hair.

The Women’s Council of Realtors-sponsored dunking booth brought out competitors with a strong arm. Businesses gave away door prizes such as a 50” plasma TV, a stainless steel dishwasher, pizzas, haircuts, Skysox tickets and gift cards.

Kids could jump around in four inflatable bounce houses. The American Cancer Society received the proceeds. Both children and adults found the “Hamster Ball” a fun ride.

"Hamster ball" ride

The Falcon Fire Department offered tours through a smoke house to teach children what to do during a fire emergency. Kids swarmed through the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team armored vehicle and sat in an old 1968 patrol car.

Firefighter Matt Gibbs helps a child climb down the ladder

Pikes Peak Community College and Falcon Virtual Academy both offered information about their educational services. The Pikes Peak Library District sold books. The funds will go toward the new High Prairie Library to be completed in Falcon sometime in early September.

Local businessman, Brian Swanson, volunteered his emcee services throughout the day while the band Velvet Rut provided a variety of music.

As a fitting end to the day, Boy Scout Troop 149 performed a flag retirement ceremony at 4 p.m.

Boy Scout Flag retirement ceremony

Meridian Ranch District Manager Tim Hunker took the lead in organizing the committee that planned this festival. Sponsors included Meridian Ranch Metropolitan District, State Bank, Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District, Integrity First Financial, Avalar Real Estate, Falcon SD 49, Falcon Collision Center, Falcon Auto, Town and Country Pre-school, Ranchland News, New Falcon Herald, Falcon Fire Dept and Antler Creek Golf Course.

The Falcon Area Business Alliance (FABA) met recently and moved from a startup to an active, operating  as a Non-profit Cooperative Functioning Group Organization. (This was previously reported as a 501(c)(3) in error.)  The 17 members present at the meeting adopted an Operating Plan (OP) and elected chairpersons.

FABA is the brainchild of Mike Hurd who spearheaded the effort to create a business group with an ethics and member-centric focus. FABA’s unique format incorporates “functional groups” rather than a board of directors or officers. This collaborative approach involves all members, rather than an elected few. To meet state corporation requirements, three functional groups are mandated: leadership, financial and mentoring.

The leadership group takes on the responsibility to manage the meetings, record minutes and votes, and maintain the membership list. The financial group acts in the same way as a treasurer. The mentoring group prepares a strategic plan, conducts the voting process (some which may be done through email) and plans program activities. Secondary groups can be formed for specific purposes.

FABA members agreed to hold two meetings a month, one for business activities and the other for social and networking. The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 7, at the Falcon Fire Administration Building on the corner of Highway 24 and Old Meridian Road. Prospective members are encouraged to attend.

At a special meeting of the Cherokee Metropolitan District board, District Manager Kip Petersen tendered his resignation to the surprise of both the public and board members.

Petersen explained, “At the last formal board meeting on June 8 of this year, I sensed a great deal of discord amongst the board related to a number of issues. I made a statement at that time that when I determine that this board has lost faith in my ability to do this job I will offer my resignation. I have reached the conclusion that the majority of the board has lost faith in my ability to do this job. Under the terms of my employment agreement, I am required to give six months notice. That notice has been given. I have offered to leave early at the end of July under certain conditions in that the severance package to be extended to cover me essentially from July until December 2011.” July 31 is Petersen’s last day.

The board voted unanimously to accept Petersen’s resignation. The board then moved to appoint Sean Chambers as interim manager. That motion passed 3 to 2 with Cederberg and Hasbrouck dissenting. Chambers served most recently as the district manager of Sunset Metropolitan District near Ellicott. He will be paid $75,000 a year. The board will start the search for a permanent district manager.

Woodmen Hills Farmers Market at CCW

“El Super Camote” from Greeley sets up a fruit and vegetable stand in the parking lot at Community Center West in Woodmen Hills every Monday. They offer tomatoes, peppers, melons, grapes, plums, peaches, apricots, strawberries and oranges. Additional farmers are expected to join them.

Division V of the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Jun 17, 2010 that Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District (WHMD) and Woodmen Hills Covenant Management Board (WHCMB) lack authority to enforce restrictive covenants or collect fees.  It’s not clear at this point who the ruling applies to–all of Filings 8 and part of 9 or only those residents who brought the original lawsuit in the first place. As I find out more information, I will pass it on.

The Meridian Ranch board of directors authorized up to $10,000 to study an expansion of the recreation center to include an indoor pool. A conference room, additional storage and restrooms are also planned.

Board Director Doug Woods said that GTL, Inc., the developer of Meridian Ranch, agreed to begin plans for recreation center expansion when the community reaches 1,000 occupied homes. Currently, Meridian has 910. Foreclosed and spec homes were not included in the count.

Woods expects to reach 1,000 homes by the end of the year, particularly since the community will participate in the Parade of Homes this year. District Manager Tim Hunker said construction would start when 1,200 homes have residents.

No budget has been established for the addition. The district will rely on architectural proposals to help determine scope and costs.

The pilot of an experimental aircraft received minor injuries when his plane crashed and caught fire about 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 17. Officials said the pilot reported computer problems before going down in the field next to Cessna Drive. The Falcon Fire Department and El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene.

This is all that remained of an experimental aircraft that crashed at Meadow Lake airport on Monday.

The election is over. I’ve removed all the posts and comments related to the campaign. I will no longer approve any comments related to the campaign. Let’s move forward and come together as a community. Whether you believe this board will be good for Woodmen Hills or not, at least give them a chance.

And the best way you can do that is by participating. Let them know your feelings. Attend board meetings. Share your expectations. Ask questions. Get information first hand instead of over the back fence and filtered through someone else’s viewpoint.

We are all adults and I am optimistic enough to believe that we can find some common ground someplace. Let’s get conversations going.

In spite of the cold and snow flurries, about 40 people attended the Ent Federal Credit Union Falcon Branch Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting on April 24. Their new facility, located at the corner of Woodmen Road and McLaughlin, originally belonged to Colorado National Bank. When CNB filed bankruptcy, the FDIC took ownership of the building. Ent became the successful bidder for purchase of that property and more than tripled the space they had at their previous Falcon location.

Caption: Amidst snow flurries, Ent dignitaries cut the ribbon to officially open their new facility. From l to r: SVP James Moore, Director of Support Services Pat Throckmorton, Falcon Center Manager Shannon Lathrop, EVPO and COO Randy Bernstein, Board Chairman Tim Riechert, SVP Barbara Winter, Board Director Steve Ducoff and Falcon Education Foundation President Amy Matisek.

The expansion also means new services. Inside, Ent now offers biometric self-service safety deposit boxes, two ATM machines, a free state-of-the-art coin counter and instant issue debit card capability. The addition of two drive-through lanes helps speed customers on their way.

Inside, the larger lobby offers plenty of natural light. The remodeled teller line enhances privacy with enclose cash dispensing machines. Offices are cubicles with glass topped partitions and situated farther away from the customer waiting line than the previous facility.

“This design is very close to the new open feeling and structure we are looking for,” said Senior Vice President Dr. Jim Moore.

In addition to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Ent presented a check for $2,500 to Amy Matisek, president of the Falcon Education Foundation. Door prizes and giveaway items were available as well as breakfast burritos and mini-muffins. A local radio station provided music, and children had a chance to view a skunk, a turtle and a snake up close.

Ent Federal Credit Union, established in 1957, is the leading financial institution in Southern Colorado with $3 billion in assets and more than 198,000 members. The Falcon branch serves about 5,400 members with a full range services including online and telephone banking, investment advice and a mortgage loan center. Ent is a not-for-profit, community-chartered credit union with membership open to businesses or individuals. Ent is federally insured by the NCUA.

A rollover accident late this afternoon sent two to the hospital. The Jeep SUV going northbound on Meridian failed to yield the right of way to the southbound Chevy at the intersection of Woodmen Hills Drive and Meridian Rd.