SPOTLIGHT ON PONCHA SPRINGS
State Rep. Tom Massey represents House District 60 in the legislature, where he serves on the education, finance and local government committees. He is also a Realtor in Poncha Springs, where he lives.
Population: 466 in 2000 census; the number of men and women is almost equal, with only two more men than women.
Elevation: 7,464 feet
Number of nearby hot springs: 99
County: Chaffee
Incorporated: 1880
Slogan: Crossroads of the Rockies
Brief history: The town was called South Arkansas from 1868 to 1877 and then Poncho Springs until 1924, when it was changed to Poncha Springs. It is not clear where the name “Poncha” came from, but some say it was named for the Ute word meaning tobacco because a weed used as a tobacco substitute grew in the pass. Others believe it was named for the Spanish word for paunch or belly, supposedly referring to the low altitude of the pass.
Prospectors came to the area about 1860, but the town really grew around 1880 after the railroad was built through there. The population grew to more than 2,000.
Sources: Town of Poncha Springs; Colorado General Assembly; U.S. Census Bureau; USGS; “1001 Colorado Place Names” by Maxine Benson; “Colorado Post Offices 1859-1989” by William Bauer, James L. Ozment and John H. Willard.
Don’t tread on speaker’s lines
State representatives poked a little fun at House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, known for slowly articulating the end of a sentence he says dozens of times each day: “Will the clerk please open the machine and the members proceed … to … vote.”
Representatives, coordinated through whispering, all shouted “proceed … to … vote” at Romanoff before he could say it himself.
“That’s cute,” Romanoff said, laughing. “I used to say that I could be replaced by a trained monkey, but someone objected to the training part.”
Can we quote you on that?
“(Senate Majority Leader Ken) Gordon said this is one of those bills where everything has been said but everything has not been said by everybody.”
Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, during the lengthy debate over a proposal to freeze property-tax rates for public schools.
“The coat rule is relaxed. The medication rule is still in place.”
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to state representatives at the start of Tuesday’s floor session. A rule requires the wearing of a sport coat.
