Congressman Doug Lamborn chats with Teller County officials, business owners about pandemic hardships
By Pat Hill- The Gazette/ Pikes Peak Courier
On a fact-finding tour last week, Congressman Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, spoke to Teller County officials and a business owner about re-opening businesses three months after the mandated shutdown by Gov. Jared Polis due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The congressman said the purpose of his visit was to relay the message that his office can help with applications for the Payment Protection Program. “We’ve helped people navigate the bureaucracy,” said Lamborn, who represents the 5th Congressional District, which includes Teller County.
However, his visit started with hearing complaints about the shutdown for Teller County.
“We’ve only got one active case (of COVID-19) right now,” said Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, speaking with Lamborn and his staff at McGinty’s Wood Oven Pub in Divide June 9. “That’s because everybody got better; nobody’s doing a reduction report.”
Lamborn agreed. “There was a lot of overreaction,” he said. “There were a lot of things that may have been appropriate for Denver but not for Teller County.”
Mikesell also shared a beef with the forest services, state and federal. “They shut down, reduced staff by 50% so we’re having to do the enforcement,” he said. “I’m going to start sending them a bill because we’ve been in the forest so much.”
Despite the shutdown, people continued to build campfires and practice target shooting in Teller, the sheriff said.
Lamborn added that national parks should not have been shut down. “So people couldn’t get out where they’re all by themselves to enjoy our public lands, get exercise and peace of mind,” he said.
Mikesell said about three weeks into the stay-at-home order, violent crime, domestic violence, suicides and assaults increased. “And child abuse cases weren’t reported so cycles of violence got worse,” he said.
Also during the shutdown, the sheriff’s office arrested several members of a white supremacist group. “They were starting to spin up because they had the freedom,” he said. “There were a lot of things going on.”
The only sheriff in Colorado who has been sued by the ACLU for six county taxpayers, Mikesell said he would accept the offer of Lamborn’s help in fighting the plaintiffs’ recent appeal. As a result, a staff member offered to arrange a trip to Washington, D.C.
As far the county itself, Commissioner Norm Steen reported good news. “We’ve got CARES money coming, a grant to cities and the county for $500,000,” Steen said, referring to the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Lamborn acknowledged that he voted against the $2.2 trillion CARES aid package and said he will not support a second bill that would extend unemployment benefits through January. “That was partisan and that’s not going anywhere,” he said, referring to the HEROES Act which passed the House of Representatives but is now in the Republican-controlled Senate. “Three quarters of Americans who are unemployed are making more not working than working. That’s a problem and the Democrats want to do that for another half year.”
On another note, Steen reported that the commissioners won the state’s public health’s department’s approval to open the casinos in Cripple Creek (as June 15). “Two days before Gilpin,” Steen said, referring to casinos in that county.
After leaving McGinty’s, Lamborn and his staff went to Alpine Firearms in Woodland Park to chat with Jon and Lois DeVaux. Because the business has been inundated with an increased demand for ammunition during the pandemic, Alpine is running a deficit from the constant re-ordering that requires payment up front, Jon DeVaux said.
To date, there has been no response from the Small Business Administration in reference to the couple’s loan application, they said. A member of Lamborn’s staff agreed to help the owners with the application to the SBA for an Economic Impact Grant.