Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.   When Timberline Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Chris Schimanskey gets a hankering for a French fry, the stubborn in him sets in. Last Saturday, the challenge of reaching a golden brown 13-foot high potato stick proved to be too much, so he incorporated the help of his fellow firefighters to hoist him on their shoulders to reach the peak.

Firefighters will do just about anything for each other and they are ready, willing and able to prove it. The French Fry Caper was part of a TFPD benefit held at Roy’s Last Shot. Meant to raise funds for the district and disperse information on the upcoming election, the fundraiser offered food and friendship, as well as typical TFPD entertainment.

The French fry part of the day was an unpremeditated event, brought about by local metal artist Ted Davis who had erected his roadside attraction sculpture on Friday. A giant red carton of crispy aluminum French fries.

With colors inspired by Willy Wonka, the fries stand proudly in front of the restaurant and, as one might expect, have raised a bit of a ruckus about the ruination of the view, the mountain setting. An equal number of critics are all for the fun of the sculpture, the mountain sense of humor and creativity to be found in these hills.

Ted and Heidi Davis moved to Gilpin County within the last year, having owned a cabin for the last 20 years. It was time for them to get out of Denver and they purchased the Heartbeat Ranch as their home and metal art studio.

Ted is a renowned metal sculptor with the RINO Arts District, whose giant lily graces the Denver International Airport. A self-taught welder and kinetic engineer, Ted says his passion for the art began in his shop class in high school, where he won national letters’ awards for his work.

Three years ago, Ted was commissioned to build a large, bright container of French fries as a landmark for a restaurant. When the restaurant went belly up, Ted took the fries.

“It was a fun project,” he says, of his piece, which he describes as “magical realism.” Pop art. The fries were stored in the back yard at the ranch, waiting for a destiny.

Heidi says, “My bedroom window faced the French fries. Man, am I ever lucky.”

Ted and Heidi began to meet the community, to understand mountain ways, and in the past year, found Roy’s Last Shot a great place to eat, socialize and get to know Roy and Barbara Stewart, who are consummate contributors to the local agencies and residents. When Roy found out about Ted’s fries, being a prolific artist himself, he suggested that the fries find a home in the restaurant’ s front yard.

With the help of his assistant, Landon Arnold, who has also moved to Gilpin County, and two other muscle bound mountain men, the sculpture was set into place, positioned in front of the Harley parking spaces.

“I love it,” says Ted. “That we can come into the community and make Roy and Barb happy and make instant friends and become part of the community. It means a lot to share our talent with the community. People either label it ‘corporate’ or they love it.”

TFPD administrators took advantage of the opportunity to get the word out about the improvement of its Public Protection Classification. The Insurance Services Office, in partnership with TFPD and Gilpin County, determined the new rating, which will be effective November 1, 2018.

A PPC Rating of 5: This rating applies to all TFPD residents and business owners within five road miles of TFPD stations 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. This classification has improved from 9.

PPC Rating of 10: This rating applies to all TFPD residents and business owners outside five road miles of the above-mentioned fire stations. This classification has not changed.

Most insurance companies in the country use the ISO’s Public Protection Classification when determining the pricing of property insurance. With this new classification, you may see a reduction in your home or business insurance premium. Contact your insurance provider to see if the TFPD’s new classification will affect your policy.

More information can be found at www.timberlinefire.com, or by contacting us at 303-582-5768.

(Originally published in the September 13, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)