Monday, September 22, 2008

Past bedevils Army in Pinon Canyon expansion The Army won that round, but lost the fight for public opinion in southeast Colorado with missteps that now endanger its plans to add 100,000 acres to train soldiers. "We found the Army wasn't truthful that first go-round," said Herman Multrer, a Vietnam veteran and rancher who opposes the expansion. "I support the Army 100 percent, but only when they're doing the right thing." In the late '70s and early '80s, the Army eventually used condemnation to obtain nearly half the training site. Its promises of jobs and federal money for local communities proved empty. As Congress this fall again debates whether the Army should be allowed to buy land, the past haunts today's negotiations. "There are some hard feelings left over from the past," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican, who as Colorado Springs' congressman is fighting to get the Army the 100,000-acre addition. In a bid to overcome resistance, the Army in recent months has cut its expansion plans from more than 400,000 acres to 100,000, and promised jobs and $100 million in construction cash. It hasn't worked....

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