Park County’s image tested by accused shooter, marijuana

According to an article in the Denver Post this week, legal marijuana is responsible for attracting accused mass shooter Robert Dear and other possible pot users to Park County.

The situation has uncovered another problem — that many newcomers, including Dear, live in substandard housing with few or no utilities.

After Dear’s arrest for the Black Friday deaths of three people in Colorado Springs and the investigation of his home in Hartsel, authorities surveyed the county for similar housing and found that 287 are considered marginal.

The homes are actually tents, shelters built with driftwood and old motor homes.

“There’s even one man who lives underground,” said neighbor Lisa Hawkins. “He has blue tarp and wood around him but no one ever does anything about it.”

But Hawkins doesn’t believe marijuana is a factor because there are no dispensaries nearby.

“Land is cheap here and people just want to be by themselves and not bothered,” she said.

Neighbors said they’d like to see tougher enforcement of zoning laws and land use regulations.

“If I sold my house, I couldn’t get much for it because of falling property values,” Hawkins said.

Jamie Heffelman, owner of the Highline Cafe and Saloon in Hartsel, said she doesn’t have an opinion either way but has seen more people moving to the area.

“People keep to themselves,” she said. “It’s their life.”

Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said county officials are aware of the problem and will take steps to correct it.

“It’s too soon to make the leap connecting substandard housing to marijuana use, or that people are coming here because of it,” he said.

Wegener said officials hope to have a plan as soon as possible before harsher winter weather arrives.

Neighbors hope the situation doesn’t damage the town’s image as a quiet, peaceful area where trouble rarely happens.