Kelly Ragland, Gilpin County . I don’t remember the first time I heard the phrase, “It’s not your fault but it is your responsibility,” but it seems to fit a lot of situations. Right now, it describes the state of community in Gilpin County. Our sheriff, library, and school are underfunded, and our community center is closed indefinitely. While there are still neighbors helping neighbors and many pockets of community thriving in Gilpin, the main institutions that protect our way of life and make it so wonderful are hurting and need our help. 

Maybe the financial state of the county is due to mis-management of funds, as some say. I don’t actually know. I am pretty sure it also has something to do with the pandemic we are living through. And while the average Gilpin County resident isn’t to blame for either of those things, we are all responsible for taking care of our community and trying to build it into a better place. 

This is why I hope folks in Gilpin will vote yes on 1A (sheriff), 1B (community center), 4A (school), 6A (library). 

My family used to be at the community center five - six times a week. Seeing it closed indefinitely makes me wonder what life will be like for young people in Gilpin in the next decade. I know not everyone up here has kids but if you have ever been in the community center and seen the youth basketball playing, the dance class in session, or the kids in the aftercare program getting to swim after a hard day at school, you know how much that place means to young people in Gilpin County. The library, sheriff, and school are just as important. I could go on and on about how each is such a positive force in our community, but I think you probably already know. These are four basic things that communities need to thrive. 

On Saturday, October 24, 2020, my kids and I took some homemade signs (showing our support for the school, library, sheriff, and community center) to the corner of Highways 46 and 119. We stood and waved our “support our community” and “vote yes” signs as people drove past. We got a lot of waves and a lot of honks. My kids were excited both from the attention the passersby were giving them and at the prospect of having the Community Center reopen. 

The additional taxes we will all share, if these measures pass, are an investment in our community. Once we help save Gilpin from the dire strait it is in (which isn’t our fault), it will be our responsibility to make sure honest effective people are elected into the county government and held accountable as they manage those funds in a way that protects our future.

(Originally published in the October 29, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)