Snapshots of Our Community

Correction to the Feb. 7 issue of OCN
Edmondson scores 1,000th point
Kiwanis presents bell-ringing check
Rotary presents play park donation
D38 arts education, Feb. 9
Bionic Sharks advance to state
Lady Rangers recognized, Feb. 18
Paper Tigers, Feb. 20
CO & US anniversaries celebrated
Kiwanis Stars of Tomorrow Finalists, Feb. 21 & 22
Four students win trips sponsored by the MVEA

Correction to the Feb. 7 issue of OCN

In the February 2026 issue of Our Community News, Steve Eaton was credited for a snapshot of members of the Tri-Lakes Dynamic Rotary Club assembling Blessing Bags for the local Police Department that will be distributed to people in need. The photo credit should have been Maryam Eaton.

Edmondson scores 1,000^th point

**Above:** During a varsity basketball game Feb. 6 at Cheyenne Mountain High School, Rylee Edmondson, a senior at Lewis-Palmer High School, scored her 1,000th point. The game was stopped to recognize this accomplishment. Photo by Steve Pate.

Kiwanis presents bell-ringing check

**Above:** Monument Hill Kiwanis Club (MHKC) has turned over the money it made ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. A check for $30,000 was presented to the Colorado Springs Salvation Army (SA) on Jan. 31. Members of Kiwanis, Tri-Lakes Women’s Club, and Lewis-Palmer D38 Key Club members spent 375 hours ringing the bell during the last holiday season. In the photo from left are MHKC Assistant Project Manager Mark Zeiger, SA representative Jeanette Bernstein, SA Maj. Nancy Bell, MHKC Project Manager Jeff Baker, and MHCK President Jim Head. Photo by Warren Gerig.

Rotary presents play park donation

**Above:** Tri-Lakes Dynamic Rotary Club has raised $2,256 that will go toward the planned Heart of Monument Play Park. Club President Maryam Eaton and club executive Katie Lenger presented a check to the Monument Hill Kiwanis Club on Feb. 14. The money was raised at the Glow Bingo event held Jan. 23 at Monument Community Presbyterian Church. The Play Park is a joint project among Kiwanis, the church, and the Town of Monument. So far, Kiwanis has raised more than $300,000 in donations and pledges for the park. The club hopes the park, which will be located on a half-acre plot next to Monument Community Presbyterian Church in downtown Monument, will be open by late summer or early fall. In the photo from left are Kiwanian Scott Ross, Eaton, Kiwanian Dean Snow, Lenger, and Kiwanian President Jim Head. Photo by Warren Gerig.

D38 arts education, Feb. 9

**Above:** On Feb. 9, Joseph Jesse, left, and Micaela Cimino gave a talk on the importance of engagement in the arts during the education years at a D38 gathering of interested school staff and citizens. The pair offered highlights from the years of their respective pursuits in the arts and entertainment industries and how the arts develop creative and engaged lives and careers. They are the owners of Bella Art and Frame Gallery in Monument. Photo by Janet Sellers.

Bionic Sharks advance to state

**Above:** Monument’s robotics team, the Bionic Sharks, advanced to the Colorado State Championship at Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 15. They received the REACH Award for outstanding community outreach. The award came with a $2,000 check. The team earned the right to compete in the championship by winning its second qualifier of the season at the Southern Qualifier at Manitou Springs High School on Feb. 7. From left are Alexandra Epstein, Nate Johnson, Alexandra Gonzalez, Pranav Balaji, Corey Cinalli, Brandon Johnson, Jeanette Breton, and Mike Hinkle. Photo by Robert Dawkins.

Lady Rangers recognized, Feb. 18

**Above:** Seniors playing for the Lewis-Palmer Lady Rangers basketball team were recognized after the game against Discovery Canyon on Feb. 18. Five seniors were recognized with their parents in a ceremony following the game: Rylee Edmondson, Emmi Medina, Kora O’Connor, Addison Kenley, and Aubrey Gross. The Lady Rangers beat Discovery Canyon in this final game before the playoffs. Photo by Steve Pate

Paper Tigers, Feb. 20

**Above:** Connie Stanton (standing) leads a “Paper Tigers” class on third Fridays, where students learn two or three new designs each time. On Feb. 20, the Monument Library held an origami class for children and adults to create small paper sculptures. Many of the children had a lot of experience making these small artworks, while it was a new attempt for some of the adults. Each person took a flat sheet of paper and engineered it with a specific series of manipulations and was able to create animals, contrive convoluted forms into a ball shape that could bounce, and make a frog toy that could hop and race the other frog toys.
**Below:** An origami mouse bookmark.
Photos by Janet Sellers.

CO & US anniversaries celebrated

**Above:** At the Monument branch library on Feb. 24, visitors listened to traditional Irish and Scottish music by the duo Wilson and McKee (shown here with several of their traditional Celtic instruments), enjoyed refreshments and scavenger hunts, contributed to a community quilt, and met Ruby, the resident “giant day gecko.” The occasion celebrated the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood and the United States’ 250th birthday of Independence. Each library in the district is hosting a dedicated open house featuring activities that highlight its unique character. Photo by Janet Sellers.

Kiwanis Stars of Tomorrow Finalists, Feb. 21 & 22

What do eight singers, four pianists, one gymnast, a cellist, a violinist, a violist, one dancer, a trumpeter, a baritone sax player, and two make-believe pirates have in common? They’ll all compete for cash prizes in the Monument Hill Kiwanis Club’s Stars of Tomorrow talent contest on March 15 at Palmer Ridge High School. A record number of more than 50 students showed off their talents at auditions on Feb. 21 and 22 at Big Red. Two fifth-graders from Palmer Lake Elementary, Emmalyse Schaffer and Anna Bearden, played pirates in a performance they wrote themselves. There were two sets of brothers and sisters. Singers Benton and Hadley Miles will compete with other high school students for prizes of $2,000 and $1,000. Violist Katherine Rose Johnson made the cut in the middle school division, and her older brother Austin, a violinist, will perform against high schoolers. Middle school prizes range from $750 to $500. The elementary school winner will take home $500. One 11-year-old from Palmer Ridge High School, Kenton Klein, didn’t make the cut but earned praise for originality by solving a Rubik’s Cube while answering questions from the judges. Photos by Michael Weinfeld.

To see short videos of each of these Stars of Tomorrow, please click here to visit Kiwanis Stars of Tomorrow Auditions on YouTube.

Palmer Lake Elementary fifth-graders Emmalyse Schaffer (L) and Anna Bearden perform an original play.

18-year-old Palmer Ridge High School student Benton Miles sings.

17-year-old Palmer Ridge High School student Hadley Miles sings.

15-year-old homeschooled student Katherine Rose Johnson plays the viola.

17-year-old homeschool student Austin Johnson plays the violin.

Palmer Ridge High School junior Madelyn LaPaorte performs a dance routine.

Lewis-Palmer High School student Chloe Jarrell sings.

Palmer Ridge High School student Lana Elliott Field plays the cello.

Palmer Ridge High School junior Xavier Gonzales plays the piano.

Lewis-Palmer High School junior Evan Marsh plays the trumpet.

Lewis-Palmer High School student Elle Gustin plays the piano.

Eight-year-old LPES student Collins Carpenter performs a gymnastics routine.

12-year-old Monument Academy student Alyson Horne sings and plays guitar.

Palmer Ridge High School sophomore Ryleigh McFarland sings.

Palmer Ridge High School senior Bonneyclaire Patterson plays baritone sax.

Lewis-Palmer Middle School 8th-grader Jack Wittenborn plays the piano.

Lewis-Palmer High School senior Jonathan Lilley sings.

Palmer Ridge High School junior Mia Claypool sings, plays harmonica and piano.

Prairie Winds Elementary School 5th-grader Esther Hunt play piano.

14-year-old Lewis-Palmer Middle School student Kaiya Powell sings.

Four students win trips sponsored by the MVEA

Four students have won trips sponsored by Mountain View Electric Association (MVEA). Sixteen students from 12 schools in MVEA’s service territory applied. Two students tied for first place. Nathan Alger from Lewis-Palmer High School and Yasmin Amadu from Rampart High School of Colorado Springs will represent MVEA at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. this June. Tager Vitt from the Haven School in the Springs came in third place. He and Wesley Rains from Liberty Tree Academy in Falcon will attend the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in Clark, Colo., this July. Photos provided by MVEA.