TWO DEATHS IN FREMONT COUNTY DUE TO WEST NILE
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For Immediate Release: Fremont County (Aug. 18, 2025) - The
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At Royal Gorge Region News, our mission is to deliver authentic rural American news that truly reflects the spirit of Fremont County, Colorado. We are dedicated to informing our community about local happenings, events, and highlights that matter most to our citizens.
Delores Comstock celebrates 61 years of 4-H
Delores Comstock is more than a 4-H leader, teacher, fair volunteer, she is a valued treasure in the community that has positively impacted hundreds of local kids, and helped more than a few grownups too!
THE LIVING LEGACY & IMPACT OF DELORES COMSTOCK
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When Delores Comstock moved in the eighth grade with her family to Cañon City from Eastern Colorado, she quickly became involved with the 4-H, working on projects to include food, clothing, steers and dairy.“ My favorite memory of 4-H was probably the square dancing,” Comstock said. “You meet a lot of friends. At that time, there was a competition in Colorado Springs that we went to every year. "While in school, she was in Spanish choir, the Pep Squad and was very involved with 4-H and 4- H square dance. She said enjoyed 4-H so much that when she graduated from high school, she became a leader of the Four-Mile 4-H Club, which she continues to do today. “I’m the organizational leader,” Comstock said. “I keep the club together and help the members whenever they need help. ”She said she enjoys working with the young people. This is evident because Delores served as a paraprofessional for 31 years in Fremont County, following in her mother’s footsteps, who taught at Four-Mile School and Wilson Junior High School. Comstock was instrumental with tutoring students in an after-school club. After she retired, she continued to work as a paraprofessional for the special education program at Washington school. In addition, Delores volunteered at her church with the children's nursery, children’s ministry and Awana program. Over the years, Comstock has been recognized for her hard work, winning the Raleigh and Edith Brooks Excellence Award.“ This was the inaugural year of it,” she said. “Raleigh was very involved with Colorado State University (CSU) and the 4-H program. I actually had the privilege of meeting him at CSU one year in Fort Collins. ”She was selected after members of the counties wrote letters of nominations for the award and she won the honor. Comstock also received the Ruth Carter Award of Excellence from the Fremont Exceptional Women in 2024. In addition, she was inducted into the Fremont Campus of Pueblo Community College Hall of Fame .“I was very humbled to even be considered for (those awards),” Comstock said. Delores has been recognized for her outstanding volunteerism through the Fremont County 4-H programs and is celebrating her 61st year of volunteerism in the program. She took over the leadership of the Four-Mile 4-H program in 1965 and continues to serve as a leader today. In conjunction, she served for almost 50 years on the Fremont County Fair Board and as the President of the Board for 22 years. Currently, she is currently serving as the Vice President of the Fair Board. Part of her other volunteering includes serving as Building Superintendent, and is in charge of all the inside exhibits. She also was on the Awards committee for the Fair Board. She noted that 4-H is good for the children. “I think 4-H is a wonderful program for young people,” she said. “It teaches them responsibility, leadership, teamwork. All of those are very important in life. You very seldom find a 4-Her in trouble. They don’t have time to get into trouble. ”Delores was married to the late Gene Comstock. Together, they had a son and a daughter, Randy and Tami, who went through the 4-H programs. One of her granddaughters just finished 4-H and is now a teaching missionary in South Korea. Our other granddaughter is a senior in high school. The Fremont County Fair and Rodeo Board also approved the silent auction proceeds to fund the "Delores Comstock Scholarship" each year for graduating seniors in Fremont County, which has already had 3 recipients for the honor.
LOCAL LEADERS SPEAK TO THE COMMUNITY, ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY
Fremont county commissioner, district 2, dEBBIE BELL
Debbie Bell has been serving as the Fremont County Commissioner for District 2 since January 2011, making her the longest consecutively serving commissioner in the county's history. Notably, she is also the first woman elected to the Fremont County Board of County Commissioners.
Before her tenure as commissioner, Bell had a background in journalism and dedicated over 30 years to volunteerism with local organizations.
She can be reached at Debbie.Bell@fremontcountyco.gov.
Sharing the ARPA Wealth
By Commissioner Debbie Bell
One of our many goals as Fremont County Commissioners is a healthy, thriving community that goes far beyond county
government.
With that in mind, we decided to invest
heavily in community organizations when the county received its $9.292 million
share of the massive federal stimulus
package named the American Rescue
Plan Act. The funding was intended to
help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and could be used in a
variety of ways.
We asked for input from other local elected officials, department heads, administration, and –most importantly - the public before we made any decisions, knowing that informed choices are the best kind. We funneled a great deal of
funding in diverse directions with an eye toward doing the ultimate good for our
entire community.
Most of the funding did go toward county projects, including elected officials’ offices, and county departments. Here, I would like to detail the special districts, outside organizations, and other projects we
chose to help fund.
The Florence Fire Protection District built housing in Penrose for regular, permanent emergency medical personnel. Doing so allowed the district to once again kickstart emergency medical services in the Penrose area, which had ground to a halt due to a lack of EMTs and funding.
The Cañon City Fire District received funding to help build the new main state-of-the-art firehouse and district home on U.S. 50.
The Cañon City Parks and Recreation
District was able to renovate Rouse
Park by replacing stadium lighting,
updating the backstop, adding shade
structures and a pavilion, and improving
general look of the grounds.
Park Center Water replaced and updated water valves and received reimbursement for the loss of late and disconnect fees that occurred during the pandemic.
Fremont Sanitation replaced six large diameter screw pumps. The massive project was paid mostly through an Energy and Mineral Impact Grant from the Department of Local Affairs, and the county’s ARPA funds made up the difference for the project to move forward.
Fremont Economic Development Corp. established distance learning opportunities by providing two-way communication linking Pueblo Community College Fremont Campus with the TechSTART Center, Emergent Campus, and all high schools in the county.
The Penrose Recreation District received funding to improve irrigation of their softball/general purpose field and for general park improvements, while the Rialto Theater was able to continue building improvements and restoration.
Smaller fire districts in Fremont County also received funding. Western Fremont Fire Protection District purchased new radios; Deer Mountain Fire Protection District purchased supplies including radios and medical supplies; Howard Volunteer Fire Department purchased a new brush truck; and Tallahassee Fire Protection District purchased a new commend vehicle and a Lifepak AED.
We also directed funding toward senior citizens with donations to the Golden Age Center and Senior Services Solutions Plus. We looked toward youth with funding for the backpack meal program at the Florence and Penrose School District and new bounce houses for the 4-H program.
And finally, funding for the Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance and the Fremont Center for the Arts allowed those organizations to purchase and move into new, permanent homes.
Overall, an astonishing 21.4 percent of Fremont County’s ARPA funds were directed into the coffers of special districts who do amazing work for our community!
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR FREMONT COUNTY, COLORADO
August 28 - ChAT WITH CHIEF
The Cañon City Police Department is excited to share another opportunity to interact with our community! They are launching a new Facebook Live broadcast with CCPD Police Chief John Schick. The premiere airing will be on Thursday, August 28th at 6pm. Chief Schick will be joined by CCPD Crime Analyst Sterling Jenkins. They will be discussing criminal activity in the community, crime statistics and how that information is obtained.
Residents may submit questions prior to the event by emailing them to: kkherrin@canoncity.org
September 2nd - Yarned & Dangerous
Join Yarned & Dangerous for a fun filled time of yarn sampling and trunk show featuring @cascadeyarns on September 5.
This is a great way to try before you buy.
Special savings for registered participants and door prizes.
Remember to bring a variety of needles and/or hooks.
#usemorefiber #coloradoyarnshop #cascadeyarns
#yarnedanddangerousco
Sep 3 - back to school party at the rialto
Sep 3 - back to school party at the rialto
All Fremont County kids, grades K-6 are invited. Only $3 for kids and parents.
Tickets are limited.
Concessions will be open with Cotton Candy, Root Beer and more.
CALL SAM BANNING at 719-281-5331
THE HISTORIC APPLE SHED CAFE IS FOR SALE!
WHAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
RGRN - where history meets community
What Happened On This Day in History – August 25
Historical Events
- 1270 — King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis) dies at Tunis during the Eighth Crusade.
- 1609 — Galileo Galilei demonstrates his improved telescope to the Venetian Senate.
- 1758 — Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Zorndorf pits Prussia against Russia in a brutally costly clash.
- 1825 — Uruguay proclaims independence from Brazil (later recognized in 1828).
- 1835 — New York Sun launches the famed “Great Moon Hoax” series.
- 1875 — Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel, landing in France after ~21 hours.
- 1916 — The U.S. National Park Service is established by the Organic Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson.
- 1944 — World War II: Paris is liberated as the German garrison surrenders to Allied forces and the French Resistance.
- 1989 — Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Neptune, sending humanity its first detailed images of the planet and Triton.
- 1991 — Belarus declares independence from the Soviet Union.
- 2005 — Hurricane Katrina makes its first landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.
- 2012 — Voyager 1 crosses the heliopause, entering interstellar space (date later determined by NASA).
- 2017 — Hurricane Harvey makes landfall near Rockport, Texas, as a Category 4 storm, triggering catastrophic flooding.
Notable Birthdays
- 1530 — Ivan IV “the Terrible”, first Tsar of Russia.
- 1819 — Allan Pinkerton, detective; founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
- 1841 — Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss surgeon, Nobel laureate.
- 1918 — Leonard Bernstein, American composer & conductor.
- 1921 — Monty Hall, game show host (Let’s Make a Deal).
- 1927 — Althea Gibson, trailblazing tennis champion.
- 1930 — Sean Connery, Oscar-winning actor.
- 1931 — Regis Philbin, television host.
- 1933 — Tom Skerritt, actor.
- 1949 — Gene Simmons, musician (KISS).
- 1954 — Elvis Costello, singer-songwriter.
- 1958 — Tim Burton, filmmaker.
- 1961 — Billy Ray Cyrus, singer-songwriter.
- 1968 — Rachael Ray, television chef & author.
- 1970 — Claudia Schiffer, model & entrepreneur.
- 1981 — Rachel Bilson, actress.
- 1987 — Blake Lively, actress.
Royal Gorge Region News - Where history meets community.
