Barbara Lawlor, Peak to Peak.  As years go, 2014 was fairly benign—no major disasters (although a couple of explosive hash oil fires could have been); no devastating floods, just the recovery work, the fixing of roads destroyed by the 2013 flood; no hurricanes, just usual mountain wind and power outages; and no famine.

The beginning of 2014 was bitter cold, falling into the negative digits and breaking records. Although there were no huge snowfalls in our area, there were many average-sized dumps, building up the snowpack in the mountains.

On May 23, the spring melt and rain filled Barker Reservoir bringing it to gush over the spillway. On May 31, it reached its peak of 568 cubic feet per second—not a record, but close, and definitely big water. This was due to the unusually heavy snowpack over the winter.

The summer was cooler than normal, wet and good for gardens. There were no wildfires, just many illegal and unconfined campfires that kept firefighters hopping.

October was filled with record-breaking high temperatures and one of the best aspen displays ever seen. There were no unusual weather events up to the end of the year, but it is predicted that once again, January would begin with frigid weather.

In January, James Matheney was approved as the Nederland Town Marshal. The 26-year law enforcement officer took over the Nederland Police Department. Within six months, Matheney developed health problems related to the altitude and resigned. Nederland resident and retired law enforcement officer Paul Carrill was appointed as interim chief for six months.

Second Street resident Tori Carpenter fought to save the two spruce trees in front of her house. The trees were slated to be cut down when construction of the Second Street road/sidewalk combination began. The project was intended to slow traffic and create a roadway that is pleasant and meandering. The trees were deemed healthy but the additional design would cost an extra $10,000. The tree problem escalated into issues between neighbors. The spruce trees became the center of controversy.. The Board of Trustees and the residents worked out a way to save the trees and the project.

Ace Hardware Store was broken into and a .177-caliber pellet gun was stolen. The suspect smashed the door/window in the process.

The Timberline Fire Protection District under Chief Chris Jennings purchased six new state-of-the-art engines, trucks which were put to the test at a compost fire on South Beaver Creek on January 26, when a quick attack was necessary. In the fall, Chief Jennings resigned his position and Chris Shimanskey was appointed as interim chief.

A Golden Gate home was burned to the ground on January 30th when high winds pushed the flames to ignite the structure.  Timberline firefighters assisted the Golden Gate fire department.

Left Hand Canyon was closed to cycles while construction of roads began. The reconstruction, which would last during the year, created one-lane traffic in many places because of the 2013 flood.

The Peak to Peak Climb bus took its debut journey on February 13. The bus serves residents from Rollinsville to Nederland to Ward. The bus was made possible by the collaborative efforts of Boulder County, Gilpin County, Foothills United Way and CDOT.

The United States Forest Service continued work on the Lump Gulch Fuels Reduction, moving from Lump Gulch to East Magnolia Road. Neighboring residents objected to the way the forest was cut—basically clear-cut with spindly lodgepole pines left in the 20-acre patches. Property owner and USFS officials held meetings on mitigated sites. The forest service has halted much of the planned mitigation work on the Lazy Z area.

Meanwhile Boulder County Parks and Open Space has continuously worked to mitigate its property around Nederland. They have recently cut many acres in the Mud Lake area of Caribou Ranch Open Space.

Eldora Mountain Resort's proposal to expand lifts and trails on 58 acres of forest service land was denied as presented by the Boulder County Commissioners, who said the environmental study does not adequately justify the need for the expansion. The commissioners stated they looked forward to working with the resort to come to some sort of agreement.

Conditions include:Protection of all threatened and endangered and sensitive species; no use of water by EMR from Middle Boulder Creek above Eldora; reduce snowmaking and grooming noise impacts on the town of  Eldora; no access for ski activities from Hessie or Fourth of July; no summer use of backside to protect wildlife; limit of 5,000 alpine tickets per day should be enforced.

Spring

In April, Boulder Creek was closed so excavation crews could clean up the sediment and debris left by the 2013 flood.

On May 4, Timberline and Nederland and Sugarloaf firefighters put out a wildland fire on Peewink Mountain. The fire was caused by an exploding target which was ignited by a shooter. The fire, 3.5 acres, was contained the same day. Exploding targets and shooting on forest land was the center of much controversy in the past year. Many residents report shooting incidents near their houses and on popular social trails in the area.

Magnolia residents have reported many incidents involving automatic weapons that prompt law enforcement investigation but by the time officers arrive, the shooters are gone. This is a problem that has not been resolved and became an issue again in the summer. Nederland and Gilpin Counties are looking into creating a shooting range somewhere in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, or Larimer Counties.

In Gilpin County at the end of May, two Gilpin women hiking with their dogs were attacked by a moose. The Colorado Department of Wildlife said since the moose population has increased, there have been more interactions with moose. Both women were transported to St. Anthony's Hospital with injuries serious enough to be placed in ICU.

Boulder County Commissioners voted against approval of the Moffat Collection System Project, the Gross Reservoir Expansion, introduced in 2010 by Denver Water.

The project was designed to raise the water level by 125 feet and add 72,000 acre feet to the reservoir. This project has been fought by environmentalists and residents who would be impacted by the excavation, blasting, and removal of 200,000 trees The Environmental Group asked for an extension until September for public comments to be sent to USFS and Army Corps of Engineers.

Nederland Community Champions Awards, sponsored by the Peak to Peak Healthy Communities Project, presented their annual awards to deserving community members. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Dan Ball, the owner of B & F Mountain Market, for his loyal support of the community.

Community volunteers included: Ross Alper of the Lovin' Cup Community Kitchen; Judy Mc Dougal and Betty Ventrella of the Nederland Food Bank; Cheryl Fanelli, of the Nederland Area Seniors; Louisa Slaght of Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center; Danny Glasser of the Nederland Community Center; Eric Hartmann of TEENS, Inc.; Nicole Bratsos of the Town of Nederland; Amanda MacDonald of Frozen Dead Guy Days; Lois Ott of the Nederland Police Department; Education Excellence to Tammy Forrest, Liz Pelletreau, Ruth Whirl, and Sue Hubert.

The Nederland Fire Protection District is often called to work climbing accident rescues. They responded to a call at Castle Rock where an injured climber was on a ledge of the steep wall and a technical rescue was needed. NFPD firefighter Dave Femmer climbed to the ledge and assisted the patient until he could be lowered to the ground.

Sandwiches and Socks was initiated by local churches to offer free lunch and socks to campers and transients who are in need of a meal and warm feet. The event takes place at Chipeta Park every second and third Thursday of the month to fill in the gap between food bank days.

Summer

When fruit ice cart vendor Susan Ayers brought her wares to downtown Nederland, a few other businesses protested that she was violating town codes. The Nederland town board decided she was good to go but made a goal of updating vendor codes.

A GOCO grant of $800,000 completed the purchase of the $7.1 million conservation easement on the Tolland Ranch south of Eldora Mountain Resort. The property is in both Gilpin and Boulder Counties and both of the counties’ emergency services will respond to recreation-related rescues and accidents and wildfires.

A house fire on Boulder Street in Nederland was caused by an explosion in a rear bedroom where hash oil was being produced. Neighbors grabbed a hose and doused the majority of the fire and Nederland firefighters also attacked the fire, saving the rest of the house. The hash oil maker was charged with fourth degree arson.

Daniel McCarty, 26-year old Nederland man, died of injuries sustained when the motorcycle he was driving crashed into the retaining wall above Barker Reservoir.

Saws and Slaws worked all summer long, mitigating Big Springs, Ridge Road, and Gilpin County residential areas. Over 40 volunteers showed up for each event, making a big difference in helping residents protect their homes from wildfire.

Timberline Fire added a new station to their district: Rollinsville Station 9 on Tolland Road will cover the Rollins Pass and Mammoth Gulch areas.

Fall/Winter

On Monday, October 13, local Nederland High School senior Miles Pancoast was injured in a rollover accident. He has been at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver working on recovering his ability to walk and adjusting to a new, challenging way of life. Pancoast was a member of this year's triumphant football team, was the Homecoming king, and was looking forward to the basketball season.

The community has come together with benefits and donations to help Miles and his family get through the recovery time. He plans to come back to Nederland when he is released from Craig.

Nederland's Bucyrus Erie Steam Shovel loaned its bucket to the Mint Museum in Charlotte North Carolina as one of the artifacts of the 100-year anniversary of the completion of the Panama Canal.

The Nederland Police Department purchased a new fleet of Chevy Tahoe patrol cars and has hired another full-time officer and part-time police clerk.

A Gilpin County home was destroyed in a hash oil explosion on November 31. A neighbor rescued the renter of the house, who was trapped in the basement. This was the second home damaged by people producing hash oil, using butane tanks to cook it.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were peaceful and calm as residents enjoyed time with their families in the last weeks of the old year, 2014.