25 things to watch in 2025

PAGE 8 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALL PAGE 9 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLMay 29, 2025 May 29, 2025

Senior Awards night for GCHS

21, just days before the seniors received their high

school diplomas.

Following introductions by District School Coun-

cilor Kim Cobb, presentations of scholarship awards

were announced by representatives of local scholar-

ship sponsors. Scholarship amounts awarded to spe-

cific students were announced at commencement.

Honor Roll and other awards were presented by

Secondary School Principal Sara Reich and School

Superintendent Dr. David MacKenzie

Superintendent Award—Annabell Aloel,

Maddie Lane, Joey Lintner, Makenzie Marr, Jiselle

Osteboe, Faith Ramsey, Dylan Schott, River Taylor,

and Lizzie Westbrook (for students with a GPA of

4.0 and above).

Principal’s Award—Kayden Bartholomew,

Gavin Knaus and Joei Sutton (for students with

GPAs of 3.5-3.9).

Eagle’s Award—Aubrey Allen, Jackson Ar-

rington, Adalyn Ball, Sam Hanssen, Jasmyn Hick-

man, Brennan Lautrup, Ella Lindenthaler, Avery

Ramsey, Dannika Sternlicht, Sadie Stryker and Max

Tanner (for students with GPAs of 3.0-3.49).

City of Black Hawk Scholarships were presented to 22 graduating students by Corey Colombin.

Gilpin County Class of 2025

2025 Student scholarships, future plans

District School Councilor Kim Cobb announced

the scholarship awards and briefly described the

future for each student. Twenty-two graduates

received Black Hawk Scholarships at $8,800

each, for $193,600. The total of scholarship

awards was—$763,605.

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Regis University—$112,000

• Penn Diversity Scholarship—$20,000

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• Peak to Peak Rotary Club—$1,000

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

• Central City Ladies Elks—$750

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,000

• County Sheriffs of Colorado—$500

Annabelle will attend Regis University to study

Nursing to become a Nurse Anesthetist.

__________________________

• Diversity Scholarship—$20,000

• Bartholomew City of Black Hawk—$8,800

Kayden will enlist in the Air Force and wishes

to pursue studies and a career in informational

technology.

__________________________

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$500

• CU Boulder Junior Award—$4,000

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

Austin will continue in the workforce and plans

on taking a Gap Year then is considering joining

the military.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• GCEF Trade School Scholarship—$1,000

Ryan plans to remain in the workforce and

then attend a trade school to pursue a career as

an electrician or diesel mechanic.

__________________________

• Gilpin Theater Scholarship—$250

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

Sam plans to take a Gap year to work, then

attend Red Rocks Community College to study

Forestry and become a Forest Ranger.

__________________________

• GCEF Trade School Scholarship—$500

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

Connor will continue in the workforce and is

also interested in attending a trade school to

pursue a career as an electrician.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• KU Merit Scholarship—$64,000

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,000

Maddie will attend the University of Kansas,

College of Liberal Arts, to pursue a major in Ap-

plied Mathematics.

__________________________

• School of Mines—$10,000

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

Joey will be attending Colorado School of

Mines and majoring in Computer Science.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Canyon Rising Scholarship—$2,605

• Grand Canyon Presidential Scholar-

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$2,000

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

Mackenzie will be attending Grand Canyon Uni-

versity to major in Pediatric Nursing.

__________________________

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

• Shelby Allen Memorial Scholarship—$500

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,500

Jiselle will attend Montana State University to

major in Business and Marketing and pursue an

aviation career.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Colorado Christian—$16,000

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,500

Faith will be attending Colorado Christian,

where she will be playing Division II basketball

and majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

• Gilpin County Fair Ambassador—$750

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,000

Dannika will attend the Central City Fire Acad-

emy in June and Emergency Medical Training in

the fall. She is considering a career in fire sci-

ence, equine therapy, or veterinary science in the

future.

__________________________

• City of Black Hawk—$8,800

• Grand Canyon University—$18,000

• Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

• Gilpin County Education Foundation—$500

Joei will attend Grand Canyon University in

the fall to study Pediatric Nursing.

__________________________

Gilpin County Education Foundation—$500

City of Black Hawk—$8,800

River will attend Red Rocks Community Col-

lege to pursue her study of languages in the com-

munications program.

__________________________

School of Mines—$10,000

City of Black Hawk—$8,800

Alan Green Memorial Foundation—$2,500

Gilpin County Booster Club—$500

Central City Ladies Elks—$750

Maxine Gray Science Award—$2,000

Gilpin County Education Foundation—$1,000

Lizzie will attend Colorado School of Mines

in the fall to study Quantitative Biosciences and

Engineering.

__________________________

Jonas will continue working in the Building

Trades Industry and hopes to become the next

Spiderman!

__________________________

Aubrey will continue her education at Red

Rocks Community College as an ASCENT stu-

dent. He will continue her studies In Outdoor

Leadership and pursue her CDL Class A license.

__________________________

Mariah plans to take a Gap Year and pursue a

career in early childhood education.

__________________________

Jackson has explored entering the workforce

through TACT – Teaching the Autism Community

Trades – and higher education through Pathways

for Inclusive Higher Education. For now, he will

take a gap year while he thinks about his options.

_____________________

Adalyn plans to take a Gap Year and attend

community college to pursue her interest in Geol-

ogy, Astronomy, or Paleontology.

__________________________

Brian will be attending Red Rocks Community

College to study psychology.

__________________________

Eli will take a GAP Year and attend the Roch-

ester Institute of Technology for Game Develop-

ment.

__________________________

Jasmyn will take a Gap Year and work in the

Service Industry. She then plans on attending

Red Rocks Community College to pursue studies

in Psychology to become a Marriage and Family

Therapist.

__________________________

Josiah plans on joining the workforce in the

service industry. He may attend a trade school

to pursue studies to become an electrician or

carpenter.

__________________________

Sammy will continue in the workforce and is

considering attending aviation school or joining

the Air Force.

__________________________

Maddie will be attending the University of

Colorado, Colorado Springs majoring in Human

Physiology and Nutrition Biomedical with a plan

of becoming an orthodontist.

__________________________

Gavin will continue in the workforce and pur-

sue a locomotive Engineer career.

__________________________

Brennan will be pursuing a career in diesel

mechanics.

__________________________

Ella plans to take a Gap Year, then attend

Lewis & Clark College or Humboldt University to

study Psychology and Art.

__________________________

Brayden plans to join the Air Force this sum-

mer and pursue Pre-law or Criminal Justice.

__________________________

Avery Ramsey will continue down the first

responder path and attend Emergency Medical

Training in the fall. She is also planning on tak-

ing classes in agricultural science and livestock

judging.

Remi Rich Remi will be attending Red Rocks

Community College to stuvdy Biology with a plan

to transfer to CU Boulder.

__________________________

Dylan will continue working in the building

trades industry and his clothing design business.

_____________________

Sadie will attend Colorado Mesa University to

study veterinarian science or elementary educa-

tion.

__________________________

Andrew will continue in the workforce while

taking a Gap Year. He may then pursue a career

in sports medicine, a master’s electrician, or anv

automotive technician.

Reporter and Photographer

One of the more beautiful venues for graduation is the

Gilpin High School football field.

Families and friends enjoyed balmy weather as Gilpin

County High School saw 37 seniors tossing their caps into

the air on May 24.

After the traditional processional to the tune of Pomp

and Circumstance and a lovely a Capello rendition of the

National Anthem by senior Dannika Sternficht, Secondary

School Principal Sara Reich introduced the graduating class

of 2025.

Class President Faith Ramsey urged graduates to keep

close to the friends made during their school years. Senior

Annabelle Aloel introduced the keynote speaker, Second-

ary Math Teacher Dawn Blake, who spoke about how the

graduates faced the trials

and tribulations of attend-

ing 7th-grade classes dur-

ing the worldwide COVID

epidemic that shut every-

thing down. She also spoke

of her warm relationships

with the students and how

she learned from them.

Blake admonished the

grads to be confident. How

one responds to situations

is what measures success,

she said and then finished

with, “Have fun, be safe,

I love you and don’t do

Madeline Lane and Jiselle

Osteboe presented the

class gift of an Eagle

mural, after which Salu-

tatorian Joseph Lintner

lauded the lasting friend-

ships made, relayed how

he learned to cope with the

fluctuations of life, and

thanked the teaching staff.

Westbrook shared what

her school years taught

school staff, parents and

friends.

future endeavor!

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Located in Mid Gilpin County

Overnight I-70 Floyd Hill closing Overnight I-70 Floyd Hill closing

planned for early Juneplanned for early June

The westbound lanes of

I-70 are expected to close on

the evenings of Monday, June

16, and Tuesday, June 17, at

Floyd Hill, CDOT announced

this week.

The closures, which are

weather-dependent, are

planned for 10 p.m. to 4:30

a.m. on those dates for over-

head sign-bridge installation

work. Eastbound motorists

won’t be impacted by the clos-

ings.

During the closure, crews

will also shift westbound I-70

toward the median between

mile point 245 and Exit 244

(Black Hawk and Golden via

U.S. 6). Once the shift is com-

pleted, motorists are advised

to expect a new traffic pattern

while traveling down Floyd

Hill.

During those two evening

closings, westbound I-70 traf-

fic will be directed onto U.S.

40 at County Road 65 (Exit

248), which parallels Floyd

Hill. Drives will be directed

to re-enter westbound I-70

using the U.S. 6 westbound

entrance (Exit 244).

One-way lane restrictions

will continue for the Peaks

to Plains Trail project along

U.S. 6 this week and next in

the Huntsman Gulch in Clear

Creek Canyon. Single-lane

restrictions have returned

between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Mondays through Fridays.

The single-lane restric-

tions are expected to continue

between mile points 267 and

271.5. weekdays in the canyon

through next year.

The Clear Creek Greenway

Courtesy Shuttle is now oper-

ating between the hours of 8

a.m. and 6 p.m. daily through

Labor Day to help Clear Creek

Greenway Trail users bypass the

one-mile trail closure between

the U.S. 6 (Exit 244) and Hidden

Valley (Exit 243) interchanges.

To use the shuttle, trail

users should go to the east or

west end of the trail closure to

be picked up. Once there, dial

720-760-2718 and the shuttle

will transport you to the oppo-

site side of the closure. Please

expect delays, as the driver

may be assisting other users,

parked on the opposite end,

or affected by I-70 traffic.

organization.

porting Clear Creek County

Advocates, a non-profit victim

service organization that

provides comprehensive sup-

port to victims of crime and

personal tragedy and offers

community education regard-

ing victimization and crime

prevention in Clear Creek

County.

The 5K run and walk will

include a loop along the Scott

Lancaster Memorial Trail in

Idaho Springs. Participants

will meet at the game check

station trailhead parking lot,

970 E. Idaho Springs Drive.

To register, visit raceroster.

com/events/2025/103831/floyd-

hill-dash.

Starting early next month,

rock scaling and helicopter

operations on Vail Pass will

necessitate traffic holds on

I-70 from Monday to Thurs-

day, between 9:30 a.m. and

2:30 p.m. These holds will

resemble those on Floyd Hill

and will last for 20 minutes.

Locally, additional rock

blasting and rock scaling

activities are scheduled from

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to

Thursday and from 9 a.m. to

noon on Friday. During the

blasting and scaling op-

erations, both eastbound and

westbound I-70 traffic will be

halted for 20-minute inter-

vals between the top of Floyd

Hill and west of the Veterans

Memorial Tunnels.

In addition, traffic will be

held on westbound U.S. 6

near Exit 244, Central City

Parkway, and Clear Creek

County Road 314 during the

blasting and scaling activities.

Barrier installation east

of the top of Floyd Hill.

Central City and several of its

affiliated groups hope to create

a revised comprehensive plan

that will eliminate red tape and

make the city more appealing

and welcoming to developers

looking to build casinos, hous-

ing, and other businesses in the

community. Once completed,

the new plan could replace mul-

tiple existing studies authorized

by the city over the past decade.

Last week, the Central City

Council, the Central City Busi-

ness Improvement District

(BID), and the Central City

Downtown Development Au-

thority (DDA) voted separately

to support overhauling the

city’s Comprehensive Plan for

$149,840.

The effort to revise the city’s

existing development code was

recommended several months

ago by HWC Investors, the

group that holds the bond for

the Central City Parkway. HWC

offered to contribute $37,460 –

or one-fourth – toward the cost

of the new plan.

Central City received a

$84,960 grant from the

Colorado Department of Local

Affairs to help pay for the study.

As a result, the city, the BID

and the DDA were required to

spend $13,710 each rather than

pay amounts equal to the HWC

contribution.

HWC, whose local spokes-

man has been Bill Porter from

Atlanta, recommended that the

comprehensive plan update

be conducted by Aleksandr

Sheykhet of Denver-based

Obermeier/Sheykhet Architec-

ture. Sheykhet is familiar with

historical buildings like Central

City and has developed similar

comprehensive plans that could

attract new development. The

final study may take up to 48

months to complete.

Local officials expect a pre-

liminary plan to be available

by next spring, at which point

Central’s leadership, local or-

ganizations, and the public will

have the chance to review it and

provide input. The new plan is

anticipated to advise city lead-

ers to amend certain aspects of

the existing code, such as height

requirements, which currently

prevent a developer from con-

structing a large casino resort

within city limits.

Road, utility, and techno-

logical improvements are

also expected to be part of the

Sheykhet plan, which will take

into account the city’s 2020

Comprehensive Plan, 2020

Trails Master Plan, 2022 De-

sign Guidelines, and the 2023

and 2024 Central City Urban

Development Authority renewal

plans, along with the 2024

Downtown Development Plan.

Additionally, it will incorpo-

rate other city plans aimed at

enhancing the Central City Fire

Department and overhauling its

water system and stormwater

drainage plans.

Plans to consider include

constructing a road that links

the Central City Parkway to

Central’s northern neighbor-

hoods and examining how new

housing areas can be developed

in clusters throughout the city.

The Urban Redevelopment

Authority is proceeding with

plans to seek proposals for the

development of its Map No.

2 area, which spans from the

Gregory Gulch area east to the

city’s border with Black Hawk.

During last Wednesday’s meet-

ing, CCURA officials indicated

that they would welcome ideas

from current property owners

or outside parties—those who

do not own land in the Map No.

2 zone—on how to develop new

businesses there.

In February, Sheykhet and

Porter addressed the coun-

cil, painting a grim picture of

Central City’s future if changes

aren’t made. “You are highly

dependent on a small number

of companies,” Porter said.

“The revenues from Cen-

tral City’s casinos have been

stagnant for 25 years, and the

property values for the general

Main Street district area are

also stagnant. Less than half the

space in the historical district

is being used today. So, as you

can see, there are some serious

issues – you’re dependent on

four companies for 90 percent

He added, “Central City’s

growth is under water. Your

building stock is deteriorating.

At some point, some of your

residents may see one of the

buildings on Main Street col-

lapse because the foundation is

deteriorating. About 53 percent

of the properties in the historic

gaming district, not including

the Belvidere [Theater], are

unoccupied or not being used,”

Porter said. “The fact is [that]

about half of your historic busi-

ness district is not being used.”

Due to declining casino

revenues, which provide the ma-

jority of the local government’s

income, the Central City Council

will face a potential budget

shortfall in the coming years.

Newly-elected Alderman Zane

Plsek stated last week that the

council will be making “tough

choices” when it begins work-

ing on the 2026 budget in the

months ahead. He voted to ap-

prove the $149,840 study after

being convinced by fellow alder-

men that the plan is essential for

the city’s future. Before voting

yes, Plsek and other residents

expressed resistance to the new

study, stating that the city has

already created several plans

that have ended up collecting

dust or were used as doorstops.

HWC, like Central City, faces

the risk of significant losses if

the city’s financial condition

deteriorates. The BID, which

imposes a 90 mill property tax

on properties in Central City’s

commercial districts, will con-

tribute an estimated $1.6 million

this year toward the parkway

bonds. When the Central City

Parkway opened in 2004, the

BID borrowed $45.2 million for

the original loan but still owes

approximately $76 million,

including the principal amount

and the 9.75 percent interest

rate. The BID predicts that the

parkway will not be fully paid off

for nearly 44 years with its cur-

rent payment schedule.

Central City currently gener-

ates most of its income from

four companies that operate six

casinos in the city. Although

five additional casinos were

planned in the past two years,

none of them materialized.

25 things to watch in 2025

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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