Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Six years after KRDO13 learned of it and began reporting on it, crews have finished repairs to a half-mile-long drainage ditch that had deteriorated and contributed to local flooding for decades.

A month ago, workers completed a five-month project to replace the concrete liner in the ditch that parallels Highway 87 and railroad tracks between Fontaine Boulevard and Grinnell Street.

The end of construction comes as a huge relief to homeowners and merchants along the ditch’s east bank on Widefield Boulevard who had lived with the threat of damage from flooding and erosion.

“When (workers) were actually doing (the project), it was shaking our house too much,” said Orion Gonzales. “And now, it’s perfect.”

Wilma Thompson said that she loves the new ditch — although her two dogs don’t.

“They keep barking at it,” she said. “And now, for the first time in a while, I don’t have to pay for flood insurance. I was watching the ditch during all the rain and snow we had this week, but there wasn’t much of a flow. Let’s see what happens after heavy rainstorms. But it’s definitely better than it was.”

El Paso County paid $2.5 million to replace the concrete liner; however, the end of the project doesn’t resolve another continuing issue.

“The county still does not own it,” said Joshua Palmer, head engineer for the county. “We will not be maintaining it. It may be unclear who actually owns it, but what is clear is that the county does not own it. Practically and even legally, there’s a liability for the county to accept ownership or maintenance of stuff that we do not own.”

As KRDO 13 reported in the summer of 2022, the county reached an agreement with the Security Sanitation District (formerly Security Water) and Fountain Valley Investment Partners; the agreement lists the partners as the owners of the ditch and is believed to be the original developers of Security-Widefield.

The ditch — according to the agreement — was built in 1961, and Security Water acquired a drainage easement that was transferred to the county in 1972; apparently there are no records to indicate who built the ditch, and when.

Palmer said that the ditch was originally built for irrigation and doesn’t have the capacity to serve as a drainage ditch, especially given how the area has grown and generated more drainage.

“The county is working on a condition assessment for the entire county,” he explained. “We have an upcoming stormwater master plan they’re going to be working on. Some of the outcomes of those two studies are going to be identified needs in the Security area. We already have some needs identified.”

Palmer said that by addressing drainage needs elsewhere, the county might be able to reduce the amount of drainage in the ditch. However, the assessment is only in its early stages and likely won’t be finished anytime soon.

“That’s at least a couple of years worth of work,” he said.

The ditch immediately north of Fontaine is deteriorating as badly as the section south of Fontaine was, and neighbors may wonder why similar repairs aren’t happening there.

“We have limited funding,” Palmer said. “As it is, we’re using ARPA (federal pandemic recovery money) to pay for this project.”

An apparent lack of maintenance contributed to the ditch’s deterioration, and he said that how often the repaired ditch needs maintenance work isn’t an immediate concern.

“There’s an immediate benefit — we fixed the problem,” Palmer said. “I think we’ve supported and really provided a benefit to the homeowners and the business owners in the area. Ideally, there would be some sort of resolution to who actually owns it and maybe who’s responsible for maintaining it in the future. But we don’t know.”

The ditch merges with another ditch and flows into Crews Gulch, which eventually drains into nearby Fountain Creek.

Whomever becomes responsible for ditch maintenance will also likely have to clean up a large amount of trash and debris in the gulch.

Lore Czpaza moved to the area from Germany at around the time the ditch was built, and spent time on Friday looking at the repair job.

“This is as close as I’ve been in a long time,” she said. “I used to clean trash out of it. I see a shopping cart in there now. That’s sad. But the money for the work was well-spent.”

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Josh Helmuth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – If disaster were ever to strike, many students from Discovery High School would now able to to respond.

Students at the D-3 school have been training for weeks in emergency response. It all culminated this week during a realistic simulation of a train crash — all to become certified emergency responders.

The students are now trained in CPR, First Aid, Stop The Bleed and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). There’s a written test, along with the simulation and, once they pass, the students are eligible to volunteer and work within CERT in the future.

Is there something or someone remarkable at your school? Email Josh! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – You may have noticed a new sets of lights off the East side of i-25 near downtown the last couple of days. It’s the “Do Portugal Circus,” bringing a new attraction to the downtown area for the next couple of weeks starting Friday evening.

The circus said it’s the third time it’s come to downtown Colorado Springs. It will be here for the next three weekends, from May 9 through May 25. It will also host shows every weekday except Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

You can find a full schedule and ticket information here.

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Tyler Cunnington

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – As Catholics around the world are celebrating the election of the new pope, practitioners here in Colorado Springs are equally as excited about the new pontiff, especially because of where he comes from.

It was a momentous and surprising day for Catholics everywhere, as the Vatican’s 267th pontiff, Robert Prevost, now named Pope Leo XIV, was revealed to be American-born, hailing from Chicago.

Local catholics in attending the Noon mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Colorado Springs to celebrate the new Pope.

Inside, Father Thomas Pressley took a moment to welcome in the new era of Pope Leo the XIV. The announcement of his appointment came just 40 minutes before the service.

He cited the new Pope from his speech at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where, per translators, Pope Leo stated: “Evil will not prevail, because we are in God’s hands.”

“That’s a very encouraging movement to speak of, an emphasis, in his words, on peace, on unity, of course, asking for our prayers within the people.” said Father Thomas.

Parishioners telling KRDO13 that message resonated with them.

“The message that he conveys and the unity that he brings to the world, the peace. And that’s what we’re hoping.” said Eva Esquuibel, attending the mass at St. Mary’s on Thursday. “As an Augustinian, he’s a follower of Saint Augustine, so that’s a very hopeful message for all of us.” she said.

“To bring all Americans and all the world together, stop the war in Russia, Ukraine.” added Walt Lovato, another attendee of the mass.

The Colorado Springs Diocese says despite Pope Leo’s relatively younger age for the position, he brings a lot of experience.

“He was a missionary.  he was a pastor at heart.  he was a bishop.  but he is also a great administrator.” said Lucas Pollice, the Director of Evangelization and Discipleship within the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

For many years Pope Leo was a missionary and bishop in Peru, where he lived for many years. More recently he has lived in Rome, serving as a Prefect, working directly with Bishops and Cardinals, which is one reason Pollice believes that Leo may have had the votes favor him for selection.

As for the name Leo, Pollice says that the name follows the previous Leo the XIII, who ushered the Church ‘into modernity’ from the 19th century to the 20th century. He says that Leo will likely stick to that theme of being a bridge builder, and spreading the church’s messaging to a new generation.

He also believes that Leo XIV will carry more of a centrist position as Pope, compared to his predecessor, Pope Francis, many of whom considered to be more progressive thinking.

“There’s things that he agreed with with Francis, or some things he didn’t agree with with Francis. So but, you know, when he came out, he talked about some great themes of Francis’s pontificate, which is [that] we’re a missionary church, the call to discipleship that God loves all people and that the church is supposed to go out and dialog.” explained Pollice.

Notably, Pollice says that Leo, despite being an American, left a strong message during his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“When he when he made his announcement, he spoke in Italian, and he spoke in Latin, [he] also spoke in Spanish to his dioceses that he was bishop with in Peru, but I think he didn’t speak english, and I think that says something.” he stated.

For the speed at which Pope Leo was elected, which was on the fourth ballot over the course of two days, he explains that Pope Francis was elected on the fifth ballot, and Benedict the 16th was elected on the fourth ballot back in 2005.

As far as the Pope’s Chicago roots, many were enjoying the discussion over his sports fandom. The Pope’s brother clearing the air to a local news station that his brother is a dedicated White Sox fan, and not a Cubs fan as originally reported earlier.

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Bart Bedsole

Low scores

Just two restaurants failed their health inspections last week, but El Paso County records show one of them has now failed four times in a row.

While it may sound like a medieval video game, Dragon King is actually a Chinese restaurant at Powers and Galley. 

Health department records show it failed its health inspection in December, February, March, before failing a fourth time on April 28. 

The latest list of violations includes: 

An employee touching cooked chicken with their bare hands 

Noodles and cooked chicken were both sitting in the kitchen at the wrong temperature 

The methods being used to cool chicken weren’t up to code 

Some of those same violations were noted during previous inspections. 

KRDO13 went to the restaurant to ask why the issues hadn’t been addressed, but the owner and manager had supposedly left for the day. 

A worker provided a phone number for that person, but no one responded to a request for comment. 

The Dragon King is still awaiting its fifth inspection. 

The Taco Express on Tutt Boulevard near Stetson Hills also failed last week. 

Among the problems here: 

At least one staff member didn’t wash their hands before putting on gloves 

A worker was spotted touching a tortilla with their bare hands before giving it to a customer 

Raw egg residue was found on a cutting board 

According to a staff member, the owner was out of town last week, and a manager had called in sick on the day of the inspection, so things weren’t up to the normal standard at the restaurant. 

When the owner returned, he had a meeting with the staff to discuss and correct the violations, and expects to have no problem passing the re-inspection, which typically comes 7-10 business days after a failure. 

A worker also pointed out that the owner’s other location on Voyager earned a perfect score in a health inspection earlier this year and was even featured in the Restaurant Roundup segment on February 27.

Just three violations were noted during the previous inspections at the Tutt location. 

High scores

Several restaurants had just one violation during their inspections last week: 

Rocky Mountain Beignets – 26 E Kiowa St 

Chicken Salad Chick – 5660 Barnes Rd 

Subway – 2345 E Platte Ave 

Snarf’s Sandwiches – 1640 S Nevada Ave 

Two restaurants also earned a perfect score: 

Taco Bell – 1030 Academy Park Loop 

Schlotzsky’s – 8310 Razorback Rd 

Created in 1971 in Austin, Texas, Schlotzsky’s is best known for its unique toasted sourdough bread, made fresh daily according to owner Rich Forbush. 

“We actually have three different kinds,” he says, “we have the sourdough, we have the rye, and we also have jalapeno and cheese.” 

“We use nothing but fresh vegetables,” he adds, “The fresh meat, we run it through the oven, which really brings out the flavor in all of the meats, I think that’s what really separates us apart from all of the other sandwich shops, is the bread.” 

Even though his two Schlotzsky’s on Razorback and at Academy and Maizeland are part of a nationwide chain, Forbush feels it’s more like a local business. 

“We do a lot of fundraising, we do special events, we do golf tournaments.  There’s a lot of things we do that stays with the Colorado Springs confines. 

The Schlotzsky’s on Razorback has always done well on its health inspection, but this is the first perfect score it has earned. 

Forbush says it’s great to see all their hard work towards maintaining food safety paying off. 

Don’t forget to look for the KRDO13 Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant to know the kitchen is clean. 

Click here to see all of the most recent health inspection reports in El Paso County. 

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, has been selected to lead the future of the Catholic Church.

The decision came down Thursday, as people from across the globe gathered in St. Peter’s Square to listen to his first words as the new reigning leader.

Pope Leo XIV, from Chicago, is the first pope from the United States in Catholic history. Catholic leaders in Colorado Springs are sending their regards as the church heads into a new era.

“I welcomed the news that the Chair of St. Peter is no longer vacant and that Cardinal Robert Prevost hasbeen elected the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Leo XIV. It is a truly historic andbeautiful moment when a new Vicar of Christ is chosen to continue the unbroken line of apostolicauthority that stretches back more than 2,000 years. It is also remarkable that he is the first pope from theUnited States. I am grateful to the 133 cardinals who participated in the conclave, and I trust that the graceof the Holy Spirit was at work during this process. I ask all the faithful to join me in praying for the newpope as he assumes the tremendous responsibility of the papal office. During this month of May, we alsoentrust our new pope to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

-Bishop James Golka, Diocese of Colorado Springs

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Scott Harrison

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Officials announced Wednesday that they have received funding from a state grant to finance a continued extension of the town’s Creek Walk trail that parallels Manitou Avenue and Fountain Creek.

The quarter-of-a-million-dollar award comes from the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Revitalizing Main Streets program; it will pay for extending the current trail a third of a mile between Old Man Trail (at the east end of Memorial Park) and Mayfair Avenue (near the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce).

This extension will be the fourth of six planned trail segments. The third addition in October 2023 — between Mayfair and Schryver Park — connected to the trail’s east end, under US 24 to near the town limits at the intersection of Colorado Avenue and Columbia Road.

That extension cost around $500,000 and was partially funded by a $400,000 CDOT grant.

Eventually, officials want to extend the trail west, from the old bottling plant to the Rainbow Falls entrance. Many people have asked for sidewalks and a trail connection along Serpentine Drive, the narrow and winding road leading to the falls.

The popularity of the trail has made improvements and upgrades a priority for town leaders, particularly to make it easily accessible to the disabled and meet federal standards for that.

Because the trail has paved and unpaved sections, there’s some concern among users that it will eventually become completely paved.

“I’d say if they could do more of a gravel, natural trail, that would be better,” said Justina Moore, who regularly visits the trail with her son, Kaedyn. “I think if you try to take the nature out of a hiking trail, it kinda defeats the purpose and just makes it, like, another sidewalk.”

Kaedyn explained what he likes about the trail.

“It has lots of trees and pretty flowers,” he said. “The birds and all the animals have a happy time here.”

Marion Ceruzzi has lived in Manitou for six years.

“I’m not concerned about the trail attracting more people,” she said. “But It matters that they (extend it) in a very responsible way, so that they don’t destroy things along the way.”

For some trail users, safety is a benefit of the trail upgrades.

“I would say the more trails, the better,” said Justin Heinze. “Traffic is difficult for runners and bikers. I’ve had some close calls with cars before — and I think the more places that are dedicated for hikers and runners, the better.”

Even out-of-town visitors — like Linda Bruha, of Arizona — are excited about the upcoming trail improvements.

“Oh, I would love to see it,” she said. “I think it would be great. I love doing the trail as it is right now, and to be able to go even farther, I think would be awesome.”

The bid process for contractors starts next month. Construction won’t begin until after Labor Day weekend but officials expect to finish before the annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races in late October.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Friends of Cheyenne Cañon will host its 32nd annual free Hummingbird Festival Saturday at the Starsmore Discovery Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hummingbirds start their return to Southern Colorado in April, and Friends of Cheyenne Cañon said attendees will have a great opportunity to see some of the mesmerizing birds on the festival’s bird walks starting at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

There will be two hummingbird talks and a raptor talk from professional educators. Friends of Cheyenne Cañon said it will also host local vendors and craft making tables.

Friends of Cheyenne Cañon is a non-profit made up of volunteers who work on trail cleanups, historical preservation and education programs at North Cheyenne Cañon State Park.

The organization asks attendees to consider carpooling to the hummingbird festival to help with the nature center’s limited parking.

Festival Schedule:

10:15-11:00 Hummingbird Talk

11:30-12:30 Raptor Talk

1:00-1:45 Hummingbird Talk

11am and 12:30pm Bird Walks

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Rob Namnoum

The Coronado girls soccer team beat Adams City 3-1 on Wednesday night. As they advance in the Class 4A playoffs. The Cougars will play Windsor on Saturday.

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Rob Namnoum

The Lewis Palmer boys lacrosse team lost a heartbreaker on Wednesday night. As they fell to Rock Canyon 8-7 in overtime.

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