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• Palmer Lake Arts Council Spotlight – John DeFrancesco (5/10/2026)
• Monument Lake – No Access May 11-14 (5/10/2026)
• OCN Newsletter #70 – May 6, 2026 – PL Library Town Hall Postponed, Mon. TC meeting highlights, May 12 MFD Chief Candidates, New snapshots, OCN May Issue and Podcasts Posted (5/6/2026)
• Monument Fire District Chief Candidate Meet and Greet, May 12 (5/5/2026)
• D38 Career Innovation Center Showcase, May 4 (5/5/2026)

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Our Latest Issue – Vol. 26 No. 5 – May 2, 2026

Don’t have time to read the whole paper? Download our issue highlights podcast transcript! Prefer to listen to the highlights? Click here.

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Download pdfs of individual pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

• Drip Coffee House Mother’s Day Special Ad Correction
• Vol. 26 No. 5 – May 2, 2026 – Photos
• Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, April 9 and 23 – Proposed disciplinary hearing frustrates board; Water emergency declared
• Buc-ee’s buys parcel for over $10 million
• Monument Town Council, April 6 and 20 – Fire training facility Final Plat approved
• Monument Planning Commission – Town re-evaluates the metal barn look
• Monument Academy School Board, April 9 – Board hosts candidate forum, makes staff decisions
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, April 14 – Discussion of bylaws; improvements to Priority 3: valuing our people
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, April 20 – 2026-27 budget, transportation fees, curriculum adoption among topics
• Donala Water and Sanitation District, March 27 and April 16 – Board hires new general manager
• Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, April 9 – District signs on to PFAS lawsuit
• Monument Sanitation District, April 15 – Monument Ridge West addition included in service area
• El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, April 16 – Design contracts awarded
• Triview Metropolitan District, April 23 – Northern Monument Creek Interceptor funded; 2026 budget amended
• Monument Fire District, April 25 – Station 3 construction begins; training center is approved
• Shiloh Pines Wildfire Preparedness Meeting, March 7 – Ready, set, go! for wildfires
• El Paso Board of County Commissioners, March 31 and April 9 – Highway 105B project agreement approved
• Woodmoor Improvement Association, April 22 – Volunteers maintain trails
• Letters to Our Community – Upset that proposed train won’t stop here
• Between the Covers at Covered Treasures – Bookstore May is the month for advice
• May Library Events – CEO to talk about Pikes Peak Library District budget and planning
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, April 16 – Old West maps explored
• The Nature of Our Community – Making sense of 2025 pine beetle survey
• High Altitude Nature and Gardens – The vital refuge: water, soil, and the path to wellness
• Art Matters – Art and nature share a secret language
• Snapshots of Our Community
• Our Community Notices
• Our Community Calendar
• Monument Arbor Day, April 24
• Troop 194 Food Drive, April 11
• Gleneagle Easter Egg Hunt, April 4
• Teen donates bookends
• April 11 mulching event helps fire mitigation
• Monument imposes water restrictions early
• Monument Road Renaming Winner Announced, April 21, 2026
• Silver Key Thrift Store Relocation Grand Opening, April 17, 2026
• D38 District Wide Art Show
• E-Motorcycles a Continuing Issue on GCA Open Space

E-Editions

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Upcoming Events

Readers should assume that event information is subject to change and information should be confirmed a day or two before the event by calling the information number or checking the organization’s website.

See page < 22 > and page < 23 > and our on-line calendar for event locations and other details of these and many other local events.

• Goat Patch Brewing Monument Summer Music Series, Every Sun., 2 pm-5 pm.
• Palmer Lake Library Town Hall, Wed., May 6 postponed to June 3, 5:30 pm-7 pm.
• Covered Treasures Bookstore Book Signings, Sat., May 9, 12 pm-2 pm. Author Z.S. Diamante
• Drip Coffee House Mother’s Day Special, Sat., May 9, 7 am-3 pm. See the revised ad.
• Monument Fire District Chief Candidate Meet and Greet, Tue., May 12, 5:30-6:30 pm.
• Monument “Talk with the Town”, Tue., May 12, 6 pm
• Taste of Tri-Lakes Cares, Wed., May 13, 5:30 pm-10 pm
• Silver Key Senior Summit, Thu.-Fri., May 14-15, 8 am-2 pm. See ad on page <2>
• Monumental Med-Spa Botox Event, Thu., May 14, 9:30 am-6 pm. See ad on page < 7 >
• Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, Thu., May 14, 6 pm.
• Lewis-Palmer District 38 Board of Education, Mon., May 18, 6 pm
• Monument Town Council, Mon., May 18, 6:30 pm
• Maxstrength Fitness Client Appreciation & One-Year Anniversary Celebration, Wed., May 20, 4 pm-6 pm. See ad on page < 11 >
• Art Hop, Thu., May 21, 5 pm-8 pm. See ad on page < 3 >.
• Covered Treasures Bookstore Book Signings, Thu., May 21, 5-8 pm. Author Denise Gard.
• Monumental Impact – Networking Night, Thu., May 21, 5:30 pm-7 pm. See ad on page < 3 >.
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, Thu., May 21, 7 pm-8 pm.
• Memorial Day Ceremony at the Monument Cemetery, Sun., May 24, 10 am
• YMCA Summer Day Camp Kickoff, Tue., May 26. See ad on page <6>.
• Restyle Your Fur, Wed., May 27, 11 am-6 pm, Thu., May 28, 10 am-6 pm. See ad on page < 9 >.
• Western Museum of Mining and Industry – Picnic and Planes, Thu., May 28, 9 am-4. See ad on page <9>.
• Palmer Lake Board of Trustees, Thu., May 28, 6 pm.
• Monument Hill Foundation – Grant Applications Deadline,  Sun., May 31.
• Monument Town Council, Mon., June 1, 6:30 pm.
• OCN Mailing Days, Thu., June 4, approx. 7-8:30 am. If you can help, even for an hour or two, getting the papers ready to mail, contact AllenAlchian@ocn.me or (719) 488-3455.
• Mountain View Electric Annual Meeting, Thu., Jun. 4, 5 pm-8 pm. See ad on page <10>.
• OCN Publication, Sat., Jun. 6

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This is our mobile-friendly website containing our most recent issues. Our archive website containing all prior OCN issues back to 2001 is at www.ocn.me.

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Our Community News (OCN) is a unique all-volunteer monthly newspaper that is mailed free to all the residences and businesses in the Tri-Lakes area of northern El Paso County, Colorado from County Line Road south to Northgate Road and from Palmer Lake east to Highway 83 and now includes over 1,800 mailboxes east of Highway 83. Our mailed circulation each month is over 22,500. We also put more than 700 papers each month in stacks at shops and offices throughout the area. Our current print run is over 23,200 making OCN one of the largest circulation newspapers in El Paso County.