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The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a contract for services with St. Thomas More Hospital to open the Fremont County Sobering Center. The center will open the first week of November.

The center will offer a safe place for citizens to sober up providing they have medical clearance. The agreement is the result of a year-long effort by community partners including law enforcement, human services, public health, substance abuse specialists and the medical community, especially St. Thomas More Hospital. Currently, those in need of sobriety are directed either to the hospital or the Fremont County Jail, using countless resources that could better be used elsewhere.

The ad hoc group quickly found that a traditional detoxification center was not financially feasible, so began searching for a new idea. The sobering center is a model currently in use in several other communities throughout the United States, but is new to Colorado.

“The most important thing we are going to do is to continue care and offer them a hand in getting – and staying – sober,” said Commissioner Debbie Bell. “Fremont County is providing a Care Manager, a new employee by the name of Pat Cox, who will talk to folks when they’re ready to leave the center.”

Cox also will follow through with clients. He will offer to help them with whatever kind of assistance they might need, whether they are homeless, in need of food or warm clothing, Medicaid, AA meetings, addiction counseling, all the way up to inpatient treatment services. He is making the connections and finding the resources to help folks create a life without alcohol.

“The Sobering Center will be much more than a place to sober up,” Bell said. “We truly believe it will be a place to change lives.”

Four public hearings brought little citizen comment as the Board of County Commissioners approved a quarry, an outfitter business, a fire protection garage, and a zone change during the May 23 meeting.

Yevoli Cobblestone Pit, located southeast of Florence, received a Conditional Use Permit to quarry and haul stone. A maximum of 10 trucks per day are allowed during the operating hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Loco Mountain Outfitters came into compliance with a Special Review Use Permit to continue its operation southwest of Texas Creek. The business uses an existing ranch house as the base camp for guided hunting trips for a capacity of six hunters and three guides two months each year.

Deer Mountain Fire Protection District will build a new, heated garage for fire equipment in the Indian Springs Subdivision. The 1-acre site recently was given a subdivision waiver and approval for fire use by the Commissioners. The existing garage will remain.

Journey Quest, a nonprofit rafting and outdoor wilderness ministry, received a zone change from Agricultural Forestry to Rural Highway Business for property near U.S. Highway 50 and County Road 27 near Texas Creek. The parcel is 6.29 acres and lies along the banks of the Arkansas River.

In other business, the Commissioners:

-       Proclaimed May 29 through June 4, 2017, as Family Safety Week in Fremont County.

-       Adopted the Community Wildfire Protection Plan for Indian Springs.

-       Accepted a proposal from Armstrong Consulting for Engineering and Planning Services at the Fremont County Airport for a five-year term.

-       Renewed Optional Premises Cultivation license for Cˆ3 Colorado Springs for a grow located at 685 Highway 115 #B.

-       Ratified the chairman’s signature on Change Order 29 for the Fremont County Justice Center Kitchen ad Laundry remodel. The change saved the county more than $14,500.

Joining a national effort to raise awareness about this important issue, the Fremont County Commissioners proclaimed April 2017 as Fremont County Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month during the regular Board meeting on Tuesday, March 28.

Mick Stumph of the Fremont County Department of Human Services appeared before the Board to read the proclamation and ask for Commissioner support.

“We must come together as partners to keep children safe, ensure that the voices of our children are heard by all, and extend a helping hand to children and families in need,” the proclamation reads in part. “Children are key to Fremont County’s future success, prosperity, and quality of life. While children are our most precious resource, they also are our most vulnerable.”

Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month also will be celebrated with two simultaneous events at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. The entire community is invited to either the Macon Plaza event in Cañon City or the Rialto Theatre event in Florence. Commissioners Tim Payne and Dwayne McFall will read the proclamation at Macon Plaza, while Commissioner Debbie Bell will present the document in Florence. Child welfare workers and others also will attend the events.

The Department of Human Services has brightly-colored blue and silver pinwheel gardens available to businesses and homes to celebrate the month, as well. For more information call DHS at (719)275-2318.

Four Fremont County elected officials met with Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and members of her staff to discuss addiction issues in rural communities. The Feb. 7 meeting also included other community leaders from the court system, treatment agencies, and medical personnel.

General Coffman said they were on a “listening tour” and asked to hear local concerns and successes surrounding addiction, particularly the rise in opioid and other prescription addiction.

Sheriff Jim Beicker, who organized the meeting, said the Fremont County Detention Facility works closely with the state to provide treatment to offenders beginning during incarceration, and then moving that treatment into community-based agencies. He also described the use of new treatments to save lives and said the protocols, including Narcan, have saved at least six people locally.

County Coroner Randy Keller said his office deals with the end result of serious addiction. He is seeking to help reverse that trend.

County Clerk and Recorder Katie Barr said she has a general interest in addiction issues. She attended to offer her assistance in the ongoing efforts.

County Commissioner Debbie Bell described the current ongoing efforts to bring some sort of detoxification facility to Fremont County. She said the collaboration is an uphill battle, because although the facility would save time, funding, energy, and resources, ultimately similar services around the state are closing.

General Coffman and her staff took copious notes and pledged to work with agencies and organizations on local initiatives, rather than try to push through new statewide programs. She said she was pleased to see the community working together strategically to address the local issues.