Palmer Lake, Colo. — The organizers of the pumpkin patch outside the town hall canceled this year’s event so that “evil doesn’t win.” A local lawyer stopped watching Sunday football at the sports bar because he got tired of people yelling at him. A gregarious chef turns his head when he drives past neighbors who have shunned him.

Over the past year, the social fabric of this town of 2,500 has been torn apart by a gas station — an enormous gas station.

See Full Page