Category Archives: Media

News Articles

ACLU sues Woodland Park School Board on behalf of citizen banned from meetings, property | News | csindy.com

Woodland Park School District, its board of education and Superintendent Ken Witt face a federal lawsuit filed Aug. 3 by a district patron who alleges they violated his First Amendment right by banning him from the district for more than a year, after he made a sarcastic remark at a board meeting.

— Read on www.csindy.com/content/tncms/live/

ACLU sues Colorado school district after former employee was banned

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado on Thursday sued Woodland Park School District leaders on behalf of a former district employee who they say was forced to leave a school board meeting after making a “brief and harmless” comment and was immediately banned from district property and events for more than a year.
— Read on coloradosun.com/2023/08/03/woodland-park-school-district-aclu-lawsuit/

Leaked audio shows how Brad Miller is driving change in our town

As this article in the Colorado Times Recorder details, leaked audio of a recent meeting has attorney Brad Miller explaining the actions he’s been driving in Woodland Park, using our Board of Eduction to further his own plans. There’s so much in that article, please read it for yourself! It helps show how Brad Miller is one of the main forces behind all the change happening in our district. We need to take back LOCAL CONTROL of our school board and kick out him and Ken Witt by voting in new board members this fall.

Letters to the Editor – August 2, 2023

From the 8/2/2023 Courier:

Spirited, partisan debate is nothing new in our country. Nor are constructive differences of opinion about issues, policies, values, and election outcomes. But I want to join those Teller County voices that are brokenhearted by how our conversations on social media platforms like Facebook pages and NextDoor, our comments in public meetings, and even when we confront each other in stores or the park, now sound like we are demonizing and dehumanizing anyone who thinks differently than we do. The tone of dialogue is tinged with sarcasm and snarkiness with a dash of “holier than thou.” Whatever happened to love your neighbor as yourself?

I absolutely love this town, and I cannot accept that we are moving toward becoming a divided, combative, and self-destructive community. It has to stop! Let’s work to reverse this trend. Let’s call on our Teller County leaders, our neighbors, and ourselves to transform our attitudes and our debate. We don’t need to agree with each other or compromise our own deeply held beliefs. But we do need to reclaim our ability to have constructive and civil conversations, and maybe even find common ground in our shared humanity.

We’re witnessing a real-time, rapidly widening fracture in Woodland Park. Each one of us either contributes to the problem or can become a part of holding Teller County together.

Becky Darrow, Woodland Park

Thank you for your exquisite piece of journalism entitled “Woodland Park Woman’s Acquittal Brings Vindication.” The article demonstrates the power of what Edmund Burke called the fourth estate to bring truth to the people. We in Teller County are truly blessed to still have a real local newspaper.

Ed Biersmith, Divide

Couldn’t help but notice David Illingsworth had one hour and fifteen minutes of “… had no involvement of any kind with the police investigation, charging decision or prosecution of the case …” advising the arresting police officer how to escalate a misdemeanor charge to a felony. Really? No involvement? For one hour fifteen minutes?

John Capaci

I was greatly disappointed to read that the Woodland Park Police Department would allow themselves to be influenced by a prominent public official on whether to bring charges against someone reporting a possible crime. What happened to “If you see something, say something?” Does this mean if I call the police to report suspicious activity, that I could be charged with felony false reporting if it turns out to be nothing? This series of events shows a disgraceful lack of credibility for the Police Department. I am a 30-year resident and am thoroughly disgusted.

Leslie St. Onge, Woodland Park

DAVIS: Buying the Birthright: A Woodland Park Investigation

Why are national groups and right-wing billionaires so involved in the transformation of the Woodland Park School District? Because the Woodland Park School District is where the opportunity to transform all public education first presented itself. And now that they have found a foothold in the Woodland Park district, they’re proclaiming it to be a model for the nation.

Their plans do not end in Woodland Park — the Bradley and Scaife Foundations are not known for limiting the scale of their ambitions — but they started there, and they started there because the conditions were right. 
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/07/davis-buying-the-birthright-a-woodland-park-investigation/55055/

Woodland Park woman’s acquittal brings vindication | Subscriber Content | gazette.com

When speaking with The Gazette, Peck said that nearly two weeks after she made the call she was arrested at her Woodland Park home by police and hit with three counts of false reporting, two of which were felonies.

Peck recalled being taken from her home near midnight in front of her three children, the oldest of whom was 14 at the time, and being forced to leave her children home alone.

“It’s awful to see the fear in your kid’s faces,” Peck said, recalling the night she was arrested and booked at the Teller County jail. “It’s awful to be treated like you were a violent threat to the community for making a call. … It’s not what the foundation of our community should be.”
— Read on the Gazette