Posted by Christine St. Vrain-Howard It is very important to alert you to the fact that a gravel mining company recently sought permission to start mining in the DIRECT vicinity of the Fort St. Vrain site. The Platte Sand and Gravel LLC, under its subsidiary S & H Mine, first presented a proposal and application to the Weld County Planning Commission to conduct a gravel mining operation in November 2000. The S & H Mine is owned by Tom Sharkey and Krystal Hoffschneider. 1,200 acres have been purchased virtually all around the site of Fort St. Vrain with plans to mine nearly 850 of them. In addition to gravel mining, they intend to upscale their operation to include an asphalt batch plant, concrete batch plant, asphalt/concrete recycling plant, and a pre-cast concrete plant. If they are allowed to strip mine, this area will NEVER be properly excavated, documented, maintained and/or restored as an important historical site. In addition, if the plans of S & H Mine are allowed to go forward, not only will a beautiful agricultural and rural way of life be destroyed, but so will an important part of our family heritage - whether you are a DeHault, DeLassus, or St. Vrain, your history is on the block! The local residents are working hard to prevent this from happening, but they thought a letter from our family would assist their efforts and give them added credibility. I was not inclined to voice my opinion until I had seen the site and surrounding area for myself, thus the last minute trip up there. Perhaps you feel the same. However, because of the urgency of this matter, I hope that you will allow me to be your eyes -- gravel mining should not happen anywhere near this, or any other historical area. The first step will involve preparing a letter to the Weld County Commissioners. This month the County Planning Commission members voted 7-0 to deny the plans (a semi-sweet victory) but the County Comissioners will have the final say. A decision will be made some time this summer. If you care to write your own letter, or simply add your name to the bottom of mine, please let me know. While the impact on the environment around Platteville is of primary concern to elected officials, it will be helpful and persuasive to add our voices and stand up to preserve not only our family's heritage, but the country's historical heritage as well. I hope you will join me in this worthy endeavor. Sincerely, Christine St. Vrain-Howard For voting against the mining proposal, a letter of thanks to the following Weld County Planning Commission Members would probably be greatly appreciated: Weld County Dept. of Planning Service and to Weld County Planning Commission County Commissioner Dist. 3 County Commissioner Dist. 3 County Commissioner Dist. 3 County Commissioner Dist. 3 County Commissioner Dist. 3
on 6/19/2001, 8:02 pm
Fort St. Vrain Site in Danger from Gravel Mining
Company Operations
On June 15 and 16, I had the good fortune to visit a site of most valuable interest to our family and friends ~ the site of Fort St. Vrain in Platteville, Colorado. My purpose, however, was far from a scenic summer drive.
stvrainer@yahoo.com
Attn: Mr. Kim Ogle Case #USR-1306
1555 N. 17th Ave.
Greeley, CO 80631
Attn: John Folsom
Cristie Nicklas
Fred Walker
Mike Miller
Stephen Mokray
Jack Epple
Bryant Gimlin
Arlan Marrs
Cathy Clamp
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
Letters in opposition to the gravel mining should be directed to:
Attn: Rob Masden
Case #USR-1306
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
Attn: David Long
same address
Attn: Glenn Vaad
same address
Attn: William Jerke
same address
Attn: Mike Geile
same address
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