Category: krdo-local-news

Josh Helmuth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs is home to a school that helps students specifically with dyslexia. It’s called ALLIES (Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence). Twice a year, they host “Dyslexia Night,” a special night to help parents better understand what their children are going through.

The D-49 school takes parents through a series of work stations, simulating the pressure, anxiety, and frustration students often suffer while dealing with dyslexia in a traditional classroom. The experience makes some parents emotional.

“My kid is in fifth grade. It’s the first time I’ve experienced this,” said one parent during last week’s Dyslexia Night. “To think that I have encouraged her and I’ve tried, but there’s just so much more that I could have done differently.”

And the school recognizes that, although dyslexia is common, it’s still very misunderstood.

“Every student that walks through our door is treated with kindness and respect, but often when they come to us, they are a little beaten down and frustrated from their school experience, so it’s our job to build them back up,” said Amy Zweifel, ALLIES’ principal.

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

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) says a portion of a nursing home has been evacuated, and hazmat crews are on scene at 104 Lois Ln.

CSFD says a small wing of the building was evacuated as a precaution. Preliminary readings did not come up with anything, but the hazmat team is inside getting more readings.

The department says that they believe cleaning chemicals may have been improperly mixed and the vapor spread to the air vents.

Two people were sent to the hospital for “minor respiratory illness.” A third person was treated at the scene, CSFD said.

“Just wondered what was going on. And then they said that there was a chemical smell. So everybody was out real quick,” Ernest Beasley has lived at The Gardens Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for years. Beasley said he didn’t smell the gas, and the first time he heard about the gas was when a nurse came in to evacuate him from his room.

“They were just telling us that there was a chemical spill. And that everybody just needed to be out real quick,” Beasley said.

CSFD said they took extra precautions because of the at-risk population living at the center.

“The chlorine gas that’s produced. It’s pretty nasty stuff. If you take enough of it, it can be a real, genuine, medical emergency,” Capt. JJ Halsey with CSFD said.

23 of the 43 residents at the center were evacuated. Tonight, a facility spokesperson says all the residents are safe and everything is back to normal. That spokesperson couldn’t say exactly what the workers were doing when the chemicals mixed, creating the dangerous gas, but added that those chemicals are regularly used to clean rooms at the center.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers bracing for two nights of closures this week on busy Dublin Boulevard near the Peterson Road intersection received an unexpected break.

City officials announced in a Monday afternoon release that they were postponing the $15 million Dublin Improvements project for two weeks, until early next month; no reason was given.

The overnight closures were to happen Tuesday and Wednesday, to allow crews to place concrete barriers that will establish a new traffic pattern during construction.

During the project, crews will make a variety of upgrades to a three-quarter-mile stretch of Dublin, from Marksheffel Road west to Fieler Drive. The segment will be widened from two to four lanes to match Dublin west of the project area, and to blend into the ongoing widening of Marksheffel in that area.

Other improvements include: Drainage work allowing more excess groundwater to drain into nearby Sand Creek, a center median similar to the existing median west of the project area, a traffic signal at the Dublin/Issaquah Drive intersection, and sidewalks where none currently exist.

Addressing a troublesome underground spring that developed last summer and fall — covered extensively by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior — was supposed to be part of the project. However, when Ice began forming late in the year, crews accelerated their repair schedule and plugged the leak in January.

Robert Flores has lived along Dublin for 16 years and said the project is long overdue.

“But they need to do something about speeding,” he said. “It’s a big problem here. I’m surprised there haven’t been more crashes. Even on the street into my neighborhood (Fieler), cars don’t stop at the stop sign. They roll through it or ignore it entirely. We have kids around here. I hope something is done about that.”

Other neighbors dread the upcoming construction and fear that the project will create more traffic congestion in an already-busy corridor.

“We don’t like the fact that our lives are going to be disrupted for an extended period of time,” said Randy and Michelle Bourgeois, while taking a stroll along Dublin. “However, It’s needed. This section is a big bottleneck as it is.”

Another concern expressed by neighbors is the ability to turn left onto or off of Dublin from their neighborhoods during and after the project — something that already is challenging with the current amount of traffic.

“I’m worried that they’ll make it right turn only, out of our neighborhoods,” a neighbor said. “I hope that doesn’t happen. Traffic is only going to get heavier with all the houses they keep building in (nearby) Banning Lewis Ranch.”

Even with the postponement, officials expect to finish the project by the end of this year.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – One of the many things Pope Francis was known for was his background in science before becoming a priest. He was the first pontiff in history to take a public stance on combating climate change. It’s that work and so much more that has left a lasting impact on one local teacher.

Seamus McGuire is a scientist and educator at St. Mary’s Catholic High School. He heads the STEM department at the school. When McGuire was in college, he spent a year studying in Rome.

“It became a part of everyday life to be walking through the Vatican on a Wednesday evening or Sunday morning, and you would see Pope Francis up on his balcony, giving his address. He’d be praying the Angelus. He would be just speaking and meeting with people, and it was so normal to see him engage with the everyday people of the city that it just was, oh, yeah, there’s the Pope. He’s doing what he does. He just meets with people. He’s there to help and guide and lead. And that really formed how I view my own faith as a Catholic. And about the mission of the Catholic Church and our need to meet people where they are and become a part of everyday life,” shared McGuire.

He says Pope Francis’s teachings and history as a scientist helped to inform his lessons as a science teacher.

“I really connected with Pope Francis on that personal level because of his background as a biochemist, where he had this entire career of working as a scientist, doing research. And that bleeds into the way that he talks and views the world,” explained McGuire.

Every week, he shares a catholic scientist with his class to inspire them and show how other catholics have had successful careers in science.

“The job of a scientist is to question. It’s to find loopholes. It’s to find the failings of the universe around us and then work on a solution for them. And you have to have some faith in your hypothesis. There’s going to be an answer to it. And when I bring that up, they go, yeah, of course, I have faith that my hypothesis, I’m going to find a solution to it. That’s faith right there. That’s religion. That’s what I’m doing every day, believing that there is a God and that faith, that trust, is at the core of religion and science,” explained McGuire.

That’s how he found answers to the intersectionality of science and religion. He shared how, during his time in Rome, he was able to study scientific research done with the belief in God. These studies and the teachings of Pope Francis have carried on in his lessons to this day.

“He really pushed for education and for making sure that our students and the next generation were set up to be successful, not just as catholics, but as human beings,” shared McGuire.

McGuire teaches students how the slightest act of kindness can make a world of a difference. 

“It’s that one small handshake, that one tiny thing that Pope Francis kept him going. So it’s, you know, those small things are really important,” explained McGuire.

Just like the Pope left that impact on him. 

“Touching his hand one time in a papal audience, even that left me so, you know, touched by how incredible of a human being he was. It’s a lot of emotions that run through your mind,” McGuire recounted.

McGuire said there will be services and prayers for students of St. Mary’s High School this week.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has announced the birth of three new ring-tailed lemur pups.

The zoo says the trio was born on March 20. Interestingly, they’re not all siblings. Despite coincidentally being born on the same day, they were born to different mothers.

For now, zoo officials say matriarch lemur Allagash is taking care of the babies.

The other lemur, Rogue, has taken a step back from motherhood. Zoo officials say just a day after giving birth, a chase displaced Rogue on Lemur Island. She was separated from her offspring, and despite the staff’s efforts to reunite Rogue with the baby, they say she no longer accepted it.

Allagash accepted the baby when staff presented it to her, the zoo said.

“Staff are monitoring all lemurs closely, and have seen calm interactions through mesh between the group and Rogue,” said the zoo in a press release. “They have seen Rogue grooming Allagash (a sign of calm respect and bonding between sisters) and the babies.”

The zoo has not released the names or sexes of the baby lemurs just yet. The lemurs are available to view at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, staff said.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — On Monday, for the second time in a week, officials have closed a road at a creek crossing to repair damage caused by flooding in June 2023.

The closure became effective just before 8 a.m.

It’s a situation that KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior has been following since repairs began late last year.

The latest closure is on Ellicott Highway across Brackett Creek, just north of the Falcon Highway intersection; it’s on a road that carries more, faster traffic and requires the largest amount of repair work.

Officials said that the road segment will remain closed until July 11.

Creek flooding covered the road and caused significant erosion damage; in addition to widening and stabilizing the channel, crews will install two large culverts under the road to convey creek drainage, install structures to slow the velocity of stormwater, and repave the damaged road segment with concrete.

Last week, the county also closed Garrett Road at the Black Squirrel Creek crossing near JD Johnson Road, to build a low-water crossing there; that closure continues until June 13.

On the same day last week, the JD Johnson creek crossing — just around the corner — reopened after construction of a similar structure.

Several neighbors wonder if the low-water crossings are the best solutions.

“I think it’ll be OK,” said Tiffany Severson. “I mean, it still seems like a temporary fix. Because in heavy rain the dirt road’s not gonna wash out, but the road is still gonna flood. And then they’re still gonna have to close it.”

Meanwhile, Luke and Mallory DeVries said that they can endure the detours as long as they know the damaged roads are being repaired — and they’ve even received some help from construction workers.

“The company that’s doing this build here on Garrett, they were kind enough to move dirt over to our lane — which is a private road — to enable us to smooth out the road and fill some gigantic potholes,” Luke explained. “So, that was kinda nice.”

His wife agrees.

“It has definitely made me re-think how I get around, because I don’t get around very well without GPS,” she said. “Hopefully, there will be no more big storms like that.”

The county is spending $8 million — mostly federal funds — on the repairs.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A local nonprofit is closing down for good. Mothers of Murdered Youth (MOMY) is a group that’s known for providing a safe space for parents who have lost a child at the hands of someone else’s actions. The group advocates for families and educates on youth violence.

This group has impacted so many community members who have tragically lost a loved one or are just joining in to advocate against violence. But now the group says the community will have to uphold their message as they close their doors.

“27 years is a long time,” shared Jim Hughes, the Vice President of MOMY.

27 years is how long Mothers of Murdered Youth has been championing change in the community. It’s a club you never want to be a part of, according to Hughes, but he’s grateful they found him when they did.

“My son Nathan was murdered. He was robbed and stabbed; he lived 24 hours,” explained Hughes.

Jim Hughes fought for justice, going to every court hearing and advocating on his son’s behalf.

“After I put people in prison, I had, I had, no support. And then Mothers of Murdered Youth found me. And I said, that’s where I need to be. And I joined up right then,” shared Hughes.

The group was there for Hughes, helping him to speak about Nathan and honor his memory. In turn, Hughes helped others who joined the group to speak about their loved ones and their memories.

“It’s healing. It really is. None of us wants our child’s memory to fade away, you know? So we talk, we speak his name, their names. And if somebody else does, too, that’s just a joy,” Hughes continued, “Whenever you see a picture, or somebody shares one that you have never seen in your life– because there are no new pictures– that is just beyond, beyond, beyond anything, you know? So yeah, we keep their memories alive for sure.”

He says he’ll continue to be there for others, but attributes rising costs and the closure of the building where they held meetings to the end of the nonprofit. He says they can’t keep asking their members to fund it all, and as he and the founder, Jennifer Romero, begin to run into health challenges, he says it’s all too much.

“Everything just piles on, and you just kind of go, it’s time, you know, the cost of meeting insurance now, you know, just everything costs,” explained Hughes.

They are planning one last get-together next Saturday, even if it’s your first time, they welcome all community members. The group asks that you message them on Facebook here for more information on the gathering.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade penned an open letter this weekend calling for U.S. Space Command to stay in Colorado Springs. This letter comes amid this week’s release of a redacted copy of the evaluation of the U.S. Space Command basing decision.

“If we are serious about government efficiency, relocating U.S. Space Command now would come at an enormous cost—not just in dollars, but in time, momentum, and operational readiness,” Mayor Mobolade writes that it would be a waste of taxpayer money to move Space Command, only for the sake of moving it, while it is fully operational.

“This must be about more than location. It must be about effectiveness, readiness, and doing what’s best for our nation,” Mobolade ends the letter by calling on federal leaders to do the right thing and prioritize our national defense and the men and women running Space Command.

Read the full letter here.

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