This is a respectful place to promote the Teller County Community, get information and give information for Teller County. This includes Cripple Creek, Crystola, Divide, Florissant, Victor and Woodland Park. Please see the rules and comment to agree to them upon entering for the first time. We are here to help each other... this is not a place for your soap box, to defame others, or to cause probl
ems. We moved here the year before the Waldo Canyon Fires. When pre-evacuations were happening in Woodland Park, my neighbors didn't know anything about Wildfires. I had just moved from 20 years of being in San Diego while my husband served the U.S. Navy. We knew a lot about wildfires. In fact, I was an Ombudman for the U.S. Navy for 3 1/2 years. Two of the years I was serving as Ombudsman, we had many wildfires, one of which prevented the CO, the XO and the CMC from being able to contact service members and their families because where they lived the fires had blocked them from getting to their command. They didn't have the rosters or phone numbers. I on the other hand did. I was able to, by the end of the day, have every family member accounted for (220 Sailors and their families) and where they were taking shelter for the duration of the fires. I was also tasked with getting vital information to the same group, the information passed on by the city, county, state and Command. When Hurricane Katrina happened, the U.S. Navy asked for help in developing an emergency plan for all Commands through out the U.S. I submitted how I handled the fires, and that became the corner stone of the U.S. Navy's emergency plan. My creating this page happened to put all the information in one place for the Waldo Canyon fires, because I understood what chaos happens in disasters such as these. I also know that those in positions of power have enough on their plates, and putting all the factual information in one place, could give them the ease of not answering individual questions when they need to be saving lives and homes. When the Waldo Canyon Fire was over, I had a good 100 followers or so. I decided that we needed to keep the page active if we ever needed to use it again. So, I made it about the community. During COVID we advertised personally owned businesses to help them out, including pinning (we keep it pinned when there aren't emergencies) the list of all the non-chain food and drink places in and around Teller County. This page is about supporting all of you and you supporting all of you. I happen to be good at research, promoting and organizing, so I am putting my talents to use, to serve my community. I couldn't do this without your support and informing me of things to post. During each wildfire in Teller County, the community has always helped me keep the information up to date. I won't take hearsay, I won't take opinions on events, but when factual data is given, we post it. When residents have questions, I try to find an answer for them, if I can't, I get back to them and tell them I don't have an answer, or I send them to someone I think can help them. This page is NOT in competition with any other page for advertising events or businesses, and it's NOT in competition with others who put out information for disasters/emergencies. It's just me trying to get the information out to the community in one place, with respect to privacy, urgency, and facts. I wouldn't have been able to post the things I did without the other pages out there posting what they do. So, in closing. This is a way I get to give back and use my gifts towards research, organization and promotion. I have experience in emergencies through working for the Red Cross and being the corner stone of the U.S. I know how to get resources to people that they need, because my husband and I ran a military resource ministry in San Diego. As I type this, it feels like I am bragging. I am told you all need to know this about me. However, I feel you all need to know how much you all mean to me, helping each other out by submitting events, organizations, businesses and resources to this page. You are actually helping each other, I'm just the organizer. Thank you for hearing my "why". I hope this helps you better understand, that I am not doing this for attention or gossip. I am doing it to help our community be better and stronger together. Thanks and have a great night!
