Lawrence David Ochs was the last mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 to be elected to the post by the city council. Ochs served on the Colorado Springs City Council from 1967 to 1975 and was mayor from 1975 to 1979. Since then the position has been a popularly elected one.

Ochs was born in Russell, Kansas

Russell, Kansas

Russell is the most populous city in and county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,506.-History:...

, and was good friends with former Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Bob Dole

Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...

. He lived in Colorado Springs since 1956.

Ochs played a role in bringing the U.S. Olympic Training Center

United States Olympic Training Center

The United States Olympic Training Centers are three campuses created by the United States Olympic Committee as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lake Placid, New York; and Chula Vista, California. There is a U.S. Olympic...

 to Colorado Springs. He oversaw annexation

Annexation

Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...

 of the southwest area of Colorado Springs and the first delivery of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 from Pueblo Reservoir

Fryingpan-Arkansas Project

The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, or "Fry-Ark," is a water diversion, storage and delivery project serving southeastern Colorado. The project was authorized in 1962 by President Kennedy, construction began that same year, and was completed in 1981...

 to Colorado Springs.

Ochs founded Acorn Petroleum Inc. with his three brothers in the mid-1950s, and later as mayor helped bring a propane storage facility to town.

The Ochs brothers own the old train depot on Sierra Madre, which is anchored by Giuseppe's Depot Restaurant. In the early 1970s, the family converted the train depot into shops.

Ochs was a recipient of the Silver Spur award given by the Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America....

 Range Riders

Range Riders

The Range Riders are an American musical group. Their family-friendly music blends gospel, country and western music.Officially re-formed on 18 August 1981, the Range Riders emerged from the western music and singing cowboy era of the early 1930s. There have been many versions of this group over...

 for community

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 activism

Activism

Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

.

External links

• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20030409/ai_n10021489
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20030424/ai_n10018066
• Colorado College
  Colorado College
  The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
  
   Tutt Library Special Collections