League Lines Newsletter for the LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ESTES PARK APRIL 2018 www.lwv.org www.lwv-estespark.org www.lwvcolorado.org LWVEP CALENDAR April 2018 June 2018 April Sat., 4/21 Sun., 4/22 Estes Recycles Day, Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies, 9 am 1 pm Earth Day! Wed., 4/25 League Program, Rocky Mountain National Park, Hondius Room in the Library, 10 am 12 noon May Sat., 5/5 Buy your duck race tickets now and support the League s Recycling Committee and Voter Services Committee! Fri., 5/11 Sun., 5/13 May Board meeting: Good Samaritan Multipurpose Room, 8 10 am all members welcome! Wed., 5/16 Mon., 5/28 June Fri., 6/1 Fri., 6/8 Thurs., 6/14 Sun., 6/17 Thurs., 6/21 League of Women Voters of Estes Park Annual Meeting, YMCA of the Rockies. Business meeting at 10 am followed by luncheon Memorial Day State League Council, Friday 10:00 am Saturday 2:00 pm, Holiday Inn Stapleton Denver East (registration required) June Board meeting: Good Samaritan Multipurpose Room, 8 10 am all members welcome! Father s Day Flag Day First day of summer! Have a great summer everyone!!
President s Message by Alice Reuman In recent months I have been sending you updates from LWVCO s Board regarding two Fair Districts Colorado initiatives. Some background on these proposals follows: The LWVCO Board established a Redistricting Committee in January 2017 to address redistricting as part of its Making Democracy Work goal. The committee s purpose is to ensure that our congressional and legislative districts are competitive meaning that any legislator or Congressperson must be responsive to their constituents and not cater to the most extreme elements of one political party. Non-competitive districts are the result of gerrymandering. Currently, only three of Colorado s House Districts and six of the its Senate Districts are truly competitive, according to FDC. LWVCO is a non-partisan participant in a coalition with unaffiliated, Republican, and Democrat members called Fair Districts Colorado (FDC). FDC is working to place congressional and legislative redistricting initiatives on the November 2018 state ballot. These initiatives would establish independent commissions for both legislative and congressional redistricting to do the redistricting work required after each decennial census. The structure of each commission would be four Democrats, four Republicans, and four unaffiliated members. The Colorado Legislative Council and Legal Services staff would draw the initial maps, not the political party in power. In November, these measures would need to pass with 55% of the vote. FDC has asked the legislature to refer the measures to voters. If that fails, members, including the League, are gearing up for a petition drive. If approved, the new system would take effect in 2020, following the census. Look for an update on this issue from Toni Larson and Andrea Wilkins at our Annual Meeting. Yours in League, Alice Reuman, President Rocky Mountain Park Update at April 25 th Meeting How might below normal snow totals impact Rocky Mountain National Park this summer? What additional actions, if any, will Rocky be taking to address congestion in the Park? What is happening with park fees? How is the moose population study going? If those or other questions are on your mind, please plan on joining your fellow Leaguers at our monthly meeting on April 25 th at 10:00 am in the Hondius Room at the Estes Valley Library. Darla Sidles, Superintendent for Rocky Mountain National Park, along with Kyle Patterson, Management Specialist/Public Affairs Officer, will be providing an update on issues and opportunities facing RMNP.
LWVCO Strategic Planning Member Survey LWVCO is working on a Strategic Plan to help it serve local Leagues better. It disseminated a survey to get feedback from each local League, with a minimum number of responses needed from each League, depending on size, to ensure the validity of the survey. Estes Park League members submitted 24 out of the required 15 surveys required for a valid sample thank you! Update on Fund Development The Fundraising committee has been busy, although we likely won t have anything schedule until late next October. We re still considering applying for a quarterly growler contest at Rock Cut Brewery. Meanwhile, we ve met with Melissa at Bird and Jim s and we are working on bringing in a speaker from the Colorado League to talk about the National Popular Vote. This would be a luncheon. We hope to follow this up with a couple more speakers at luncheons. We are also looking into the possibility of visiting our Sister City in Costa Rica, Monteverdi. This idea needs a lot of work yet, so we ll see. If any of you have any ideas for fundraising, we re always open to any and all suggestions. Save the Dates in April and May! April 21 st Estes Recycles Day! See article below for details. April 25 th - LWVEP will host its annual meeting focusing on Rocky Mountain National Park. Please plan to join us for our most popular program of the year! May 16 th LWVEP Annual Meeting! Our Annual Meeting will be help on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the YMCA Pine Room, as in years past. A buffet lunch will be served for only $16 per person. This is the League s annual business meeting when the next season s officers are elected, budget approved, and committees report on their accomplishments for the year. It is also the time to give input into next year s program. In addition, we will hear from Toni Larson, LWVCO President, and Andrea Wilkins, LWVCO lobbyist. We hope you will all attend this showcasing of the work of League in Colorado and Estes Park. You don t have to order lunch to attend, but we do have to have your reservation and check in hand by May 1 if you wish to order lunch. Please mail your reservations for and check to PO Box 564, Estes park, CO 80517. Please mail early, as the mail service seems to have slowed down lately! Look for details emailed to each member or contact Jean McGuire at 630-414-5259 or jeanmcguire7777@gmail.com. See you on May 16! Remember the League in your Duck Race tickets! Our Duck Race is coming May 5 th! On the adoption form, you will have an opportunity to support your League of Women (and men) Voters. We have two numbers you can circle for your support. They are #58 which would give your $20 to our Community Recycling Committee and #59 which would give your $20 to our Voter Education Fund. Please consider adopting either one or both of these endeavors. Join us for all the fun May 5 th, watching all our duckies! There are also many prizes, including 1 st an 8 day trip to Costa Rica or $6,000 and 2 nd - an 8 day trip to the Mexican/Riviera Maya or $3,000! Tickets available at www.epduckrace.org or you can call me Joanie Crockett at 970-586-4540. Great Decisions Join us for our May 1 st discussion of foreign policy in our Great Decisions group. The more, the merrier! May s meeting will be on Media and foreign policy, led by Ken Zornes, in the Hondius Room of the library starting at 11:30 am.
Update from our Community Recycling Committee LWV&CRC has had a busy month and the next three weeks will be very busy. The forum on March 20 was well attended by both League members and community members. We were all able to be informed about local, county changes, and what is happening in other towns in our state. On Saturday, April 21 is the next Estes Recycles Day. Rain, snow, or whatever the weather will be will not stop the determined committee. We thank all of you who have volunteered to help that day. What started out a few years ago as Freecycle has now added several other ways of recycling; getting rid of things you do not need anymore, including paint, papers that need shredding, electronics that have worn out, cardboard that can be taken away, and various kinds of metals that you do not need. See more below! The next week on Friday the 27th is the Mountain Festival where we will be able to talk to school children about recycling. The Duck Race is on May 5 and we will have a booth at Bond Park. Be sure to buy Duck Adoption Forms and mark "58" for "LWV& Comm Recycling Cmtee" or "59" for the "LWV Voter Education Fund" for the League of Women Voters of Estes Park. Diane Burkepile Estes Recycles -- SATURDAY (April 21) Estes Recycles Day now has FIVE separate stations, accessed in order by a one way traffic pattern. 1. Scrap Metal (Rotary) 2. Rotary Shred-a-thon 3. Bestway Painting Paint Product Recycling 4. Electronic Recycling 5. Freecycle We need over 50 individuals volunteers for this biannual event to be sure the stations and traffic run smoothly. The setup shift works 6:30am to 9am. The operations run 9am to 1pm (Shift reports at 8:30am). And the Cleanup crew is needed beginning at 1pm. We also need individuals who can take leftovers from Freecycle to other locations, some in Estes and some in the valley below. We are still somewhat short this year, especially for Traffic Control. So, please let me know if you are available. RRRcyc2se@gmail.com or 970-396-0580 LWVEP and Economic Development Corporation to Hold Third Workforce Housing Discussion May 1st In November of 2017 and January of 2018, the League of Women Voters of Estes Park (LWVEP) and the Economic Development Corporation of Estes Park (EDC) held panel discussions on the critical need for more workforce housing in the Estes Valley. The purpose of the two programs was to identify the problems that a lack of housing causes organizations in the Estes Valley and to focus on possible solutions by exploring the areas of incentives for developers, possible code changes, and land availability. On May 1 st from 7:00 pm 8:30 pm in the Estes Park Town Board Room of Town Hall, the LWVEP and EDC will host a third workforce housing program. This discussion will feature two developers who are working on potential workforce housing projects within Estes Park, as well as Housing Authority Executive Director Naomi Hawf. All three panelists will discuss the challenges of building workforce housing in Estes Park and will conclude the program by taking questions from the audience. For more information, please contact Liz Zornes at 970-480-1888.
Junior Election Held April 3 rd The student voters selected Marie Cenac, Carlie Bangs, and Art Messal as their choices to represent them as Town Trustees. Judging from the thoughtful and in depth questions asked at the Junior Election Forum, our teenagers are learning quite well how to judge what is important in evaluating who they elect. These young people will make excellent adults in a few years, ready to participate in democracy. The Junior Election will again vote in May, for Hospital Board and for Board members for the EVRPD, which interests the kids because they are excited about the new Community Center. Students in grades 5-12 enrolled in the public school system will vote at school (on their I-pads) as part of the curriculum. All students in grades K-4 or in the Options program, on-line schools, home-schooled, attending Montessori School, or in other alternative educational programs (and not, even part time, in the Estes Park Schools) may vote at the Library on May 8. It takes considerable practice to develop these skills. Please encourage your kids and grandkids to VOTE!!! LWVEP is on Social Media! Our League now has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. If you do Facebook, like our page at League of Women Voters of Estes Park, CO. We will post upcoming events, voter information and other topics. If you tweet, follow us on Twitter @LWVEPCO. We will tweet up-to-date information about our activities. And don t forget that we have long had a website: www.lwv-estespark.org. Board Members President Alice Reuman Vice-President Liz Zornes Secretary Jackie Hertel Treasurer Cherie Martin Membership Sue Magnuson Development Joanie Crockett Voter Services open Programs open RMNP Bonnie Seals & Jackie Hertel Recycling Diane Burkepile Local Affairs open Communications Bonnie Seals At-large Judi Smith Mission Statement: The League of Women Voter is a nonpartisan political organization that promotes informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership is open to both men and women 16 years of age and up. Quote of the Month Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. - Potter Stewart Supreme Court Justice, 1958-1981