A Timeless Legacy in Central City

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Vol. 162 No. 45 May 1, 2025

Sightings of baby moose & gray wolf

A baby moose showed up at the door of the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office last

week. It wasn’t selling Avon products, nor did anyone let it into the building. The

sheriff’s department decided to close the entrance, marked it off with caution

tape, and asked people to use the lower entrance (near the county court) to ac-

cess the building. Later in the day, the sheriff’s office posted that the moose had

left the property and most likely found its mother at the Dory Hill Cemetery.

GCSO’s Facebook page

Sightings of a bear, gray wolf and a

little baby moose lit up Facebook and

other social media sites in Gilpin County

last week.

A Colorado Parks & Wildlife rep-

resentative reported that a gray wolf

– which had been wearing a tracking

collar – briefly entered Gilpin County in

early April but quickly left the vicinity.

However, CP&W doesn’t specify the

exact location where satellites detected

the tracking signal. Instead, it identi-

fies the watershed where the creature

roamed.

Last Thursday, CP&W updated its

monthly tracking map on its website.

While it did not list the gray wolf’s loca-

tion, it indicated that the animal had

been in Gilpin County. The map suggest-

ed that the temporary visit might have

occurred in the tributaries of the South

Beaver Creek watershed, which stretches

from the Moffatt Tunnel/Tolland area,

west of Rollinsville, to the Gross Dam

and Reservoir to the

east at the junction of

Gilpin, Boulder, and

Jefferson counties.

whether the gray wolf

the Ralston Creek or

watersheds.

While the gray wolf’s

visit was brief (see page

tion), its appearance

led to various media

reports in the Denver

area, cautioning resi-

dents that wolves could

Front Range. For peo-

ple living in Gilpin and

other nearby mountain

ings of various wildlife

new. On any given day

Facebook page, those

with outdoor surveil-

quently post pictures

of a moose, bear, elk,

or other animals that

homes.

Gaming jurisdictions to decide

iGaming stances this month

Colorado’s General Assembly will not consider

any iGaming-related bills before the current

legislative session concludes next Wednesday,

May 7.

However, the five host gaming jurisdictions

in the state are already preparing for next year’s

legislative session if any state leaders intend to

introduce bills that would legally permit inter-

net slots-style gaming in Colorado, possibly as

early as mid-2026.

The five host gaming jurisdictions includes

Gilpin and Teller counties, along with their

gaming cities of Black Hawk, Central City, and

Cripple Creek, which were approved for legal-

ized gambling by voters in 1990.

To demonstrate to the state’s elected leaders

their opposition to online slots gaming, Black

Hawk created a joint resolution against iGam-

ing, hoping that other jurisdictions will sign it as

a united “show of force” against such legislation.

Black Hawk’s leaders approved the resolution

during last week’s meeting. In the coming days,

Cripple Creek and Teller County are scheduled

to vote on the resolution. It is also expected to

be considered by Central City’s leaders on Tues-

day, May 6, and by the Gilpin Board of County

Commissioners on Tuesday, May 13.

The joint resolution primarily addresses the

financial impact that iGaming could have on the

two counties and three cities, whose budgets are

mostly funded by state-collected taxes generated

from local casinos. Black Hawk, with 15 casinos,

generates nearly 86 percent of Colorado’s taxes,

while Cripple Creek accounts for 10 percent and

Central City for 4 percent, respectively. About

47 percent of Gilpin County’s budget funding

comes directly from gaming taxes, excluding

property taxes levied on the 21 casinos in the

county.

Seven states currently allow iGaming, which

enables residents to access an app on their

phone, tablet, or computer and pay to play

virtual slot machines online. Many of the online

slots are the same as those offered in brick-

and-mortar casinos, and some online vendors

also operate live table games. FanDuel, Draft-

Kings and BetMGM, considered the largest

online casino-slots companies, currently have

legal sports-betting apps in Colorado and other

states.

If iGaming is sanctioned, the local host gam-

ing jurisdictions are unlikely to receive funding

Visit the Gilpin History Museum

The Gilpin Historical

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information

www.gilpinhistory.org

Museum is closed during the winter.

Receive a free 5-year warranty

with qualifying purchase*

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Be prepared before the next power outage.

Call 866-413-5097 to

schedule your free quote!

A photo cutline in last week’s edition was accidentally misla-

beled. A photo of Chuck Spenser and Zane Plsek said the latter

was running for a seat on the Business Improvement District

(BID). While both are running for seats on the local sanitation

district, Plsek isn’t running for the BID, only the Black Hawk-

Central City Sanitation District, for which he is running unop-

posed for a two-year term.

In an accompanying story on the page, the wording

should’ve read that sanitation district residential customers

pay $80 annually for service, not quarterly as reported.

We apologize for the errors.

Main St. group does its best to promote Central City

There’s no such word as

“quit” or “stop” to the volun-

teers who are part of the Main

Street Central City organiza-

tion.

Today (May 1), MSCC Chair

Barbara Thielemann and her

crew will be spread throughout

downtown Central City, hosting

25 Gilpin Schools fourth grad-

ers for the annual city tour.

The students, their teachers

and chaperones will begin their

trek at the Big T parking lot on

Nevada Street, where Dr. David

Forsyth, director of the Gilpin

Historical Society’s Museum,

will give the children notebooks

to chronicle their experiences

and write down historical infor-

mation that will be presented

to them.

After the introduction, the

students will join Mayor Jer-

emy Fey for a talk at City Hall

on Nevada Street. They will

then walk next door to the new

Central City Visitors’ Center

and the Belvidere Theater res-

toration project. Their journey

to the other end of Main Street

will take them to the Central

City Opera building, Teller

House, St. James Church, the

museum, Gilpin Art Gallery,

and the county’s offices in the

historic courthouse building.

Students will receive a

“goodie bag” to conclude their

visit from Main Street Central

City, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit

organization acknowledged by

the Colorado Department of

Local Affairs and the National

Historic Trust.

To prepare for their busy

2025 season, Main Street

Central City hosted its second

annual dinner to thank regu-

lar volunteers and occasional

helpers at the Central City Elks

Lodge No. 557 last Friday night,

April 25.

“Our mission is the revital-

ization of Central City through

diversification and expansion

of business opportunities and

maintenance of its historic

atmosphere through volunteer

efforts of citizens, businesses,

organizations and govern-

ment,” said Thielemann, who

was the Weekly Register-Call’ s

2023 “Central City Citizen of

Commented Thielemann to

the 30 people who attended the

dinner, “Each one of you have

volunteered your precious time

to help at one of our community

She also listed some upcom-

ing events that Main Street

Central City will be involved

in over the next seven months.

• Central City’s annual

clean-up campaign will

take place on Thursday,

May 29.

• MSCC will sponsor the

which includes the fa-

mous bed races on Main

Street, on Saturday, June

14.

• Committee members will

manage the ticket booth

for the Central City Busi-

ness Improvement Dis-

trict’s “Stills in the Hills”

event on Saturday, June

28, and the “Great Cen-

tral City Beer Festival”

on Saturday, Aug. 23.

• The annual children’s

pumpkin patch and ac-

tivities are scheduled for

early October, although

the date and time have

not been confirmed.

• Later in October, the

organization plans to

hold the second annual

“Spooktacular” on Main

Street, a family-friendly

Halloween event that

will feature free candy

for children.

• The annual Tommyk-

nockers holiday event is

scheduled for December

5 to 7. The activities

include lighting the

tree and a potluck dinner

on Dec. 5, followed by

the annual bazaar at the

Teller House that week-

end. Gilpin children will

be brought to the event

Dec. 5 for cookies, gifts,

tree decorating, story-

telling, and a visit from

Father Christmas.

Ironically, Thielemann

reported that Father Christmas

was a last-second no-show for

the volunteer dinner. Those

who didn’t have to travel from

the North Pole enjoyed a dinner

spread prepared by Deb Wight-

man, MSCC’s treasurer, featur-

ing roast beef, salad, lasagna,

fruit, desserts, and drinks.

Thielemann also welcomed

four volunteer firefighters from

Central City who attended the

event and expressed grati-

tude for their response to the

recent Hawley Merchandise

Warehouse fire. Other guests

included representatives from

the Belvidere Foundation and

schools in Gilpin County.

Main Street Central City,

which meets regularly at City

Hall, has several board mem-

bers, including Vice Chair

Jeremy Kaiser, Secretary Peter

Droege, and Events Chair Shir-

ley Voorhies.

qualities of every person), a rubber band

(to remind you to be flexible—because things may not

always go the way you want, but they will work out); a

Band-Aid (to remind you to heal hurt feelings—yours

or somebody else’s); a pencil with an eraser (to remind

you to list your blessings and that everyone makes

mistakes—and that’s okay); a paper clip (to remind you

that by holding things in perspective, you can accom-

plish anything); a mint (to remind you that you’re worth

a mint); a candy kiss (to remind you that everyone

needs a kiss or a hug every day, especially children);

and a tea bag (to remind you to take time for yourself—

you’ve deserved it!).

Present at the dinner honoring Main Street Central City’s volunteers were Deb Wightman, treasur-

er; Shirley Voorhies, event chairperson; and Barbara Thielemann, MSCC Chair.

Photos by Don Ireland

Beginning today (May

1), the Gilpin County Food

Pantry will have new

longer Thursday hours. It

will be open from 1:30 to

5:30 p.m. Monday hours

will remain the same,

from 9 to 11 a.m.

For additional infor-

mation, call Corinne at

720-432-6120.

A Timeless Legacy in Central City

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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