Redstone March April 2023

Redstone stands with President Zelensky and the people in Ukraine

Easter Service at Planet Bluegrass

LYONS – Easter services will be held on April 9, at 11 a.m. at Planet Bluegrass, 500 W. Main St. on the Main Stage with music provided by local musicians. The Rev. Sam Tallent, will conduct the service.

An Easter Egg Hunt, provided by Lyons Fire Department will follow after the service. A Love offering will be taken for Higher Ground Ministries. Bring your own chairs or blanket for seating. Dress appropriately. Drop off donations of filled plastic Easter eggs (no chocolate of any kind, please) at St. Vrain Market, 455 Main St. or at Moxie at 355 Main St., on Friday April 7 and Saturday April 8. Email Mindy Tallent for more information at mstallent@gmail.com.

Lyons Community Church Easter services

LYONS – Lyons Community Church, 350 W. Main St., invites everyone to join them on Palm Sunday April 2 at 10 a.m.

A Bluegrass Easter Service where the Blue Canyon Boys band will perform will be held on April 9 at 10 a.m. followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. Pastor Matthias Krier will conduct the services. For more information, email lyonscommunityumc@gmail.com or call the church at 303-823-6245.

Blood Drive returns to the Library on May 2

LYONS – Town Planner, Dave Kimmett, reported to the town board that, “What I can say is that it (Blood Drive) was a resounding success. Vitalant, the blood donation management organization, was very pleased with the outcome, so much so that they will be back again on May 2 from 2 to 6 p.m., again at the Lyons Regional Library at 451 4th Ave. Spaces are already filling up, but there’s still room and walk-ins will be welcomed that day if time and space permit.” For more information, contact the Lyons Regional Library at 303-823-5165.

Here are some numbers from Vitalant from the February 24 event:

• 10 first-time donors

• 26 whole blood donations

• 1 double “Power Red” donation

• Your first blood drive saved 89 lives Pretty cool.

Continue Briefs on Page 6

issuu.com/sdcmc

Fiddle the baby bongo – Denver Zoo is thrilled to introduce their newest Eastern bongo calf, Fiddle, who was born on January 25 to parents Fern and Howard. This adorable little bongo is extremely curious and loves running. Bongos are one of the largest forest antelopes, found only in a mountain forested region of central Kenya, and are condidered Critically Endangered. You can visit Fiddle and all the other animals at Denver Zoo, every day from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m.

By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review

LYONS – The Lyons Town Board voted to approve Ordinance 1142 on first reading to increase the marijuana sales tax from 3.5 percent to 5 percent.

Finance Director Cassey Eyestone told the board that if the local marijuana sales tax is increased it will result in additional revenue of 1.5 percent in the town’s general fund that could result in approximately $45,000 to $55,000 in additional revenue annually.

For some background, the board asked staff to provide a comparison of the town’s local retail marijuana sales tax rate, 3.5 percent with neighboring communities in addition to other mountain communities. This comparison was reviewed at the February 21 town board meeting.

The study showed that the sales tax in some other communities was: Boulder 3.5 percent; Breckenridge 5 percent; Lafayette 5 percent; Longmont 3 percent; Nederland 5 percent. The staff was then directed to reach out to the three local marijuana dispensaries in town to get their input on an increase in the tax rate. The staff heard back from one dispensary in Lyons which was not in favor of the tax increase. At this writing the staff is still waiting for the other two dispensaries’ responses. The board has the authority to increase this tax rate up to 10 percent by ordinance without the need for additional voter approval.

The board will hold a public hearing on the marijuana sales tax ordinance 1142 at its next meeting.

The town board turned to other matters to discuss weather Lyons should sign on to support the Boulder County Solar Co-op.

The Boulder County Office of Sustainabil-

ity, Climate Action and Resilience contacted Lyons to see if the town would be interested in helping to promote a solar co-op project that aims to get solar installed on 200 Boulder County buildings. The project was motivated by the Marshall Fire, which burned down over 1,000 homes.

The county has a contract with Solar United Neighbors (SUN) to launch a countywide solar bulk purchase in April. Broomfield recently worked with SUN to develop a co-op. The contract is between Boulder County and SUN. The county is asking Lyons if Lyons would like to actively participate in the promotion of the project by supplying SUN with its logo and using the town’s media outlets.

Aaron Caplan, Utilities and Engineering Director, said in his report to the board, “I sat in on the initial meeting with a number of other municipalities’ sustainability coordinators and asked a number of questions from a utility perspective such as, ‘Does Lyons having its own electric utility, and its own metering rate make a difference?’ From a technical perspective, there do not appear to be any concerns. My one concern was if Lyons actively participates and no Lyons residents are selected or become a part of the co-op, the perception or optics might not look good to Lyons residents. I do not see this as a reason not to help promote the project. The Utility and Engineering Board voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Trustees that they would support Lyons’s active participation and promotion of the Boulder County Solar Co-op project.”

After a discussion on whether or not some of the buildings in Lyons would be chosen, which is not known at this time, the Lyons Trustees unanimously decided to go ahead and promote the County’s solar project. Mayor Hollie Rogin said, “There is really no

downside to the project.”

The board then turned to another topic, the naming of alleys. Town Planner David Kimmett gave the presentation saying that, from a safety perspective, it was important to name the alleys. Some residences face the alleys and emergency services such as fire department, emergency vehicles, sheriff’s department and even delivery vehicles have difficulty finding residences if the alleys are not named.

Planner Kimmett has spoken with Lyons FPD Assistant Chief Pischke about this issue, and the Lyons Fire District would like to see alleys named. Planner Kimmett also conversed with the Lyons Substation Boulder County Sheriff Sergeant Sears about the issue, and he specifically pointed out how important this would be in helping officers identify a location.

Kimmett pointed out that we now have a lot more accessory dwelling units (ADUs) which are difficult for emergency services to find in case of an emergency. Kimmett gave the board a list of suggested names which were mostly botanical names suggesting trees, plants., etc. There are 12 alleys that are not named. He pointed out that somewhere along the way someone decided that the east – west streets should be named streets and the north – south streets should be named avenues, even though it does not say that on the plats.

Trustee Greg Oetting said that he met with the Student Advisory Council who suggested some fun names for alleys such as Bowling Alley and Trash Can Alley.

Director Caplan pointed out that the board should be aware that when the alleys are named, some residents will have to change their address, so if their address is something like 429 1/2 Reese because it is in an alley,

Town board gives initial approval to raise sales tax on marijuana, decides to name alleys and join a BoCo solar co-op

Grant funds helped purchase new bunker gear and new heart monitors

By Peter Zick, Lyons Fire District Chief Redstone Review

had a great year.

Heart Monitor Grant: Total award amount $50,000. Outstanding balance is $7,000.

The Lyons Fire Protection District total funds required was $23,611 for all three grants.

Zick

LYONS – The last few months have been very exciting for us at Lyons Fire, and for our partners in Boulder and Larimer Counties. As I informed you before, we received $1.4 million dollars in grant funds from the Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant in 2022. Along with our regional partners from Allenspark, Pinewood Springs, Hygiene and Lefthand Fire, these funds were used to purchase critical equipment for our region that will replace aging self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) for our firefighters and purchase new radios to allow us to be interoperable with all fire districts in Boulder and Larimer Counties.

Along with the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, the Lyons Fire Protection District also received grant funds to help purchase new bunker gear for our firefighters, and new heart monitors to enhance our service capability to our community. A grant to help fund training and peer support for our firefighters suffering from PTSD was also awarded. All three of these grants totaled $80,000.

All of the grant awards that were received required a funds match to complete the requirements for each specific grant. The amount of matching funds varies from grant to grant but all of the ones received required some level of matching funds. For example, the $1.4 million dollar grant for SCBAs and radios required a 5 percent

matching funds (split between five fire districts), the bunker gear grant was a 50-percent-match requirement and the heart monitor grant had funds put towards the project that were not funded entirely by the grant.

Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG)

SCBA Grant: Total award amount $607,170.86.

Matching requirement is $6,400 (Lyons Fire share).

Radio Grant: Total award amount $863,244.00. Matching requirement is $10,276.71 (Lyons Fire Share).

Total Grant Funds awarded from AFG: $1,470,414. We

News from Colorado State Senator Janice Marchman

By Janice Marchman Redstone Review

Luckily, the Lyons Fire Protection District has a 501(c)3 non-profit called the Lyons Fire Fund that was able to donate all the funds required for all of our grant matches, as well as to fund the purchase of new hose for our new fire truck.

The Lyons Fire Fund was founded in 2015 to augment the Lyons Fire Protection District (LFPD) budget for upto-date equipment, facilities, fire prevention, training and community programs. The Fire Fund, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, enables LFPD to provide the most advanced and efficient form of emergency services. The funds used to match all of our grants was donated by the Lyons Fire Fund and all of the wonderful people who have donated to the fund to help keep our community safe.

The donations from the Lyons Fire Fund would not be possible without the support and generosity from our community and businesses that have donated to the fund in the past. I cannot say thank you enough to all of you for helping us support our firefighters in their mission to keep our community safe.

If you would like to donate to the Lyons Fire Fund, you can go to www.lyonsfirefund.org. We greatly appreciate all of the support that our entire community always gives.

Peter Zick is the Lyons Fire District Chief.

to pandemic-related learning loss with a historic investment in tutoring and training.

The bill holds a package of new programs including:

DENVER

– From educators to farmers, this week has been all about advocacy.

Last Thursday, I met with over two-dozen teachers from Colorado SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) to hear about the needs of our schools and educators when it comes to providing physical fitness and well-being to our kiddos. Learning loss, teacher shortages, and under-funded public schools is why I’m working hard in the Senate Education committee to deliver strong supports to our students and teachers.

I also had the incredible pleasure of meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris along with the Democratic Women’s Caucus to discuss everything from expanding healthcare access to mitigating the devastating effects of climate change.

I have also been hard at work advocating for Colorado’s farmers and agricultural workers. My bill, HB23-1011 (Consumer Right To Repair Agricultural Equipment) will be heard in the Senate Agriculture committee this week, so I’ve been busy speaking with local farmers to hear about how this bill can help cut down operating costs for their own equipment and help feed our communities. If there are any bills you are passionate about, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. I’d love to hear your input on the proposals I’m voting on.

Bill Updates HB23-1005 has been signed into law. New Energy Improvement Program Changes was signed into law by Governor Polis last week. This bill will provide building owners with access to low-cost financing for turf replacement and

landscaping projects, thus helping reduce outdoor water demand, creating more drought-tolerant landscapes, and improving system-wide water supply resilience for utilities facing the impacts of climate change and prolonged drought.

Just over a year ago, the Marshall Fire damaged more than 30 commercial buildings in Boulder County. As these kinds of extreme natural disasters become more fre-

Twenty five million dollars for three-year grants for afterschool math and STEM improvements School districts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other community groups and individual charter schools can apply for tutoring programs.

Free optional training for an estimated 36,000 educators in the latest evidence-based math practices. Parents can also tap into training. The Colorado Dept. of Education will create a free “train the trainer” model and provide assistance in math instruction to help small rural districts.

Required education preparation programs to train new teachers in evidence-based math instruction, including interventions to help students below grade level, children with disabilities and English-language learners, and other new programs.

The second bill is part of a package protecting reproductive rights and safety for all Coloradans. My bill, Prohibiting Deceptive Practices at Anti-Abortion Centers, will protect Coloradans seeking reproductive health care by prohibiting the use of deceptive advertising by anti-abortion centers. It declares prescribing, offering, or facilitating a “medication abortion reversal” unprofessional conduct for licensed or certified health care providers.

quent, it’s vital that we do everything we can to make commercial and industrial properties more climate resilient and energy sustainable.

New Bills

Two more bills of mine have been introduced this week

The first is HB23-1231 Math In Pre-kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade. This bill aims to reach the 50,000 Colorado students who are struggling in math due

Leading locally, recognized nationally

By Joe Neguse, US Rep. Colorado 2nd District Redstone Review

Everyone should be able to seek life-saving reproductive and affirming care without interference or shame – it is a fundamental expression of the American values of freedom, privacy, and self-determination that we all hold dear. These bills represent an important step forward in our goal to keep abortion safe, transparent, and accessible in Colorado, and will help improve the health and well-being of communities across our state.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached at 200 E Colfax, RM 346, Denver, CO, or 303-866-4853 or janice.Marchman.Senate@CoLeg.Gov.

chains, expand small business growth, improve cybersecurity, and promote ethics in government.

Neguse

LYONS – Here in Colorado, we know that the best way to build a better future is by rolling up our sleeves, listening to each other, and doing

the hard work – together. I am honored to announce that our team’s efforts are being recognized nationally. A recent report indicated that in the 117th Congress (2021–2022) we enacted more laws than any other Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since first being elected to Congress, my team and I have always been focused on leading locally, which to me, means listen-

Lyons Area & Flood Books For Sale! from the Lyons Redstone Museum

ing to constituents – at town halls, community events and more – and then working to create impactful legislation from these conversations that will ultimately help Coloradans.

Of the 13 laws we penned last Congress, each focuses on working toward the common good. We wrote laws that better support forest and grassland restoration projects and bills that support rural and mountain communities. And just last year, we announced the successful enactment of three bills to strengthen American supply

Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first African-American member of Congress in Colorado history. He serves as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Marchman

Firefighter Chris Gatlin, on the left, and Captain Kevin Boccolucci display some of the new equipment and gear purchased with grant funds.

Vice President Kamale Harris, at far right, meets with the Democratic Women’s Caucus. Janice Marchman is to the left of Harris, in front of a flag.

What Proposition 123 could mean for affordable housing in Lyons

By Hollie Rogin, Mayor of Lyons Redstone Review

LYONS – Last November, Colorado voters passed Proposition 123. This dedicates 0.1 percent – or about $300 million annually – to programs that advance housing affordability. This includes helping essential workers buy homes and financially supporting local governments to increase the stock of affordable housing by three percent per year. This is great news for affordability and increases the likelihood that fewer people will be priced out of Lyons. But there is work to be done.

As you may know, government moves slowly. The details of the implementation of Prop 123 are still being defined, while the need for affordable housing becomes more urgent every day. We are taking every step we can to prepare ourselves for the potential funding that may come our way. This includes obtaining a grant to conduct a housing needs assessment study.

One of the biggest challenges to housing affordability in Lyons is that we are very near buildout and are geographically constrained. Another is that Lyons does not have its own Housing Authority. We have historically relied on the Boulder County Housing Authority for assistance with, for example, Walt Self Senior Housing and Bloomfield Alley.

A bill currently under consideration in the Colorado General Assembly could help. HB 1123-90 is titled Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal. If passed and signed into law, local governments can match an acceptable offer for the sale of a residential or mixed-use multifamily property for the purpose of maintaining or creating long-term affordable housing. The municipality can also assign this right of first refusal to the State or any housing authority in the state.

Here is an example of how this could potentially work in Lyons:

An apartment building in Lyons is listed for sale. This property meets a need outlined in our housing assessment study. Using funding from Prop 123, the Town or local Housing Authority is able to match an acceptable offer on the property. The seller would be obligated under HB 112390 to offer the first right of refusal on this property to the Town or to a local Housing Authority for the purpose of creating long-term affordable housing. The Town or local Housing Authority would then purchase and manage the property and expand our affordable housing options.

There may be much work to do, both locally and at the State Legislature, before we are able to make a scenario like this a reality, and your Board of Trustees is absolutely committed to housing affordability in Lyons. With the help of extremely dedicated and talented Staff and the members of the hard-working Housing and Human Serv-

Strike up the band for National March into Literacy Month

By Staff Reports Redstone Review

LYONS – Literacy is more than just reading and writing. Literacy should be fun, and this is why National March into Literacy Month, held in March, is important. Good reading and writing skills are essential for everyone, not only children. Consider for a moment how much easier it is to use signs, labels, and even your phone because you’re able to read and understand text such as the article you’re reading now. Discover mind-boggling facts about literacy, how to promote it and why everyone needs to have these skills in the modern world.

History of National March into Literacy

In early colonial U.S. history, parents were primarily responsible for teaching their children to read for the sole purpose of reading the Bible. However, the Massachusetts law of 1642 and the Connecticut law of 1650 mandated

that everyone learn to read, including servants and apprentices. These laws set the ball rolling for establishing many nursery schools, preschools, and kindergartens to formalize education during the Industrial Revolution.

During the 20th century, more federal acts and models emerged to ensure that literacy skills and education were a priority. From the 2000s, immigration to the cities increased, and most of the immigrants’ children spoke languages other than English, which put them at a disadvantage. This development made literacy the focus of educational reform in elementary schools.

Entry-level workers in the American job market require more advanced skills and knowledge in the 21st century, making literacy particularly important in adulthood. According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, young adults without a post-secondary education found it challenging to find career opportunities. Analysis shows that individuals without higher education have low and below-basic literacy rates; therefore, the focus of American leaders and policymakers should not be just on improving mass literacy at the elementary stages of education but also on sustaining it.

In 2005, the United States emerged as the country with the lowest literacy skill level in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) among six other countries.

In 2019, the National Center for Educational Statistics reported that 4.1 percent of U.S. adults had literacy abilities below level 1. This indicates that they are “unable to successfully determine the meaning of sentences, read relatively short

ices Commission, I am confident there are great housing affordability successes on the horizon.

Do you want to talk about housing affordability, or a different issue? Come and have a chat during our new monthly Tea With Trustees. On the last Sunday of each month, myself and a rotating Trustee will be available during a two-hour window to listen to your concerns and answer your questions. This month, please stop and say hello to me and Trustee Paula Stone-Williams on March 26 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Moxie Mercantile. Let spring begin.

Hollie Rogin was sworn in as Mayor of Lyons on April 18, 2022. Before that she was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees for the term of 2020 – 2022. In 2015, she created the foundation for what is now the City of Boulder’s Commercial Affordability program on a pro bono basis. While serving as a Trustee, she was the Board liaison to the Economic Vitality Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission.

OBITUARY

By Sharon Pigeon McConnell February 10, 1945 – March 2, 2023

Sharon Ann (Pigeon) McConnell, of Lyons, beloved wife of Byron R. McConnell (58 years) and loving mother of Kelly Duff and Jackie Guntle, passed away peacefully on March 2, 2023.

Sharon or “Pidge” as she was commonly referred to, was born in Denver, on February 10, 1945, to the late Charles and Evelyn (Scholz) Pigeon. Byron and Sharon made their home on Apple Valley Road, just outside of Lyons in 1972. They named the road they lived on after their two daughters J.J. and Kelly. Hence, JJ Kelly Road was officially named.

Sharon attended Denver Beauty College after high school and worked as a beautician for over 25 years. She had her own little beauty shoppe in Lyons, and then after her daughters graduated, she transferred to Longmont Hair Fare. She was so well liked by some of her clients that she did hair for friends and family for several years after retiring.

She also joined a weekly art group, with some of her neighbors, and learned the art of watercolor. She just loved attending art class at Ann Ripley’s and going to the local coffee shop to start her day. Her love for elk hunting, fishing, hiking, and gardening always inspired and amazed her daughters.

Sharon is survived by her husband Byron R. McConnell (brother of LaVern Johnson) of Lyons; two daughters, Kelly (Bob) Duff of Silt, CO, and Jackie (Tim) Guntle of Johnstown, CO; grandchildren, Brandon (Katie) Duff of Palisade, CO, and Zach and Jase Guntle of Johnstown, CO, and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Sharon was preceded in death by her siblings, John Pigeon, Nancy Pigeon Totten, Lynn Pigeon McCain.

A graveside service will be held at the Lyons Cemetery on May 27, at 11 a.m. Reception to follow in Lyons.

Donations may be made to Tru Community Care Hospice, 2594 Trailridge Dr E, Lafayette, CO 80026… they were just wonderful.

Rogin

Construction is in progress at the Summit affordable housing development in Lyons. PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

LCF marks 15 years of local giving and local impact

By Kate Schnepel Redstone Review

LYONS – Any long-time Lyons resident will tell you that the town has changed a lot since 2007, the year Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) was founded. Businesses have come and others have (sadly) gone, new houses have risen from what once were open fields, property values have increased exponentially, and the flood of 2013 brought devastation followed by a vast rebuilding effort.

One thing that hasn’t changed? Lyons is still a small town with a big heart. Evidence for that can be found in the commitment of our citizens to improving the community and giving back to others.

The Lyons Community Foundation was established in 2007 when several generous and caring area residents saw the need for a locally-based philanthropy and began the hard work of setting up the organization. John Burke, Gary LaFever, and Rick England, among others, were key in laying this groundwork. Connie Eyster and Christy Crosser were the first Advisory Board co-chairs. LCF was established under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Boulder County and remains one of its funds.

In the 15 years since LCF was started, nearly 60 area residents have served on its Advisory Board, volunteering their time to help the community. Those same board members have collectively donated approximately $300,000 to LCF. In fact, many of LCF’s original board members continue to support the organization to this day, funding grants to nonprofits and scholarships for local students.

One reason for having a community foundation is the ability to address the unique needs of a small and diverse community. There are events, projects, and programs that otherwise would not occur, given the budget and constraints of a small town.

Accordingly, LCF focuses on raising

funds to support a diverse range of projects and populations in order to improve the quality of life, build a culture of giving and encourage positive change in the greater Lyons area. By offering a centralized source for fundraising, nonprofits can focus on their programs, and individuals and busi-

nesses have a way to easily support all the good work happening in the community.

Since 2008, the first year LCF gave out grants, more than $500,000 has been awarded to a variety of local nonprofit organizations such as the Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF), the Town of Lyons, the

Gone missing: The story of Aquilla Cook

By Monique Sawyer-Lang Redstone Review

LYONS – Aquilla Cook, born May 7, 1833, lived on the South St. Vrain just south of what would become the town of Lyons. He lived there along with his wife, Esther Jane, and two sons, Caleb and Freeman. In 1868 Aquilla went missing while on a hunting trip. The September 26, 1930 edition of The Lyons Recorder newspaper contains an article that recounts the tragic story of the early area pioneer. From the Recorder:

Marker Commemorates Tragedy of Pioneer

Geo. S. Billings and J.G. Parks went up to Cook Mountain Wednesday morning to place the granite marker at the spot where the body of Aquilla Cook was found. The marker bears the following inscription:

Aquilla Cook

Died here April 20, 1868

Age 35 years

Caleb Cook, of Saratoga, Wyoming, where he operates the XH Ranch, son of the unfortunate pioneer, had the marker made last week while here.

This incident has, of course, revived interest in the tragic death of one of our early pioneers.

Mr. and Mrs. Aquilla Cook lived on the South St. Vrain just south of Lyons. In those early times all kinds of wild game was abundant and the people depended on it very largely for their meat. Mr. Cook, just convalescing from an illness, then called lung fever, probably pneumonia, started out with his rifle to get some meat, evidently intending to go only a short distance, since he went in his

shirt sleeves. How he came to go as far as Cook Mountain can only be surmised. He may have been following an elk or other big game and overtaken by acute illness or weakness due to his weakened condition from his recent illness so as not to be able to return. He is said to have been a powerful and hardy man normally and it is unlikely that he became confused or lost. When he did not return, a manhunt was organized, participated in by every able bodied man for miles around but in vain. His body was not found until three years and seven months later, when Brown Ragan happened upon it accidentally. The mountain where the body was found has since been known as Cook Mountain.

Cale Cook was only seven years old at the time of his father’s death. He says he has had it in mind for many years to commemorate the tragic event in some way.

The Recorder’s comments ended there.

Today, the sandstone marker, attached to a granite rock, is located on Cook Mountain, west of Button Rock Reservoir. Information about the trail where the marker is located is available on the website alltrails.com listed under Button Rock & Cook Mountain Unnamed 7071 & 7985 in the Activities Tab. The marker states that he was 35 years old at the time of his death which is incorrect; he was actually about two weeks shy of his 35th birthday.

Sadly, this was not the only tragedy to befall this family. Freeman Cook, who was four years old at the time of his father’s death, died in 1889 at the age of 25 in an explosion at the Smuggler Mine, west of Lyons.

Aquilla Cook, his wife Esther Jane Cook Sites, and his son Freeman are buried in the Hygiene Cemetery. In memory of his brother and father Caleb named his son Freeman Aquilla Cook.

Lyons Historical Society, Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens, the Lyons Elementary School PTO, and the Lyons Middle/Senior High School Booster Club. These community support grants help these organizations and others fulfill their missions.

The 15 years since LCF was founded have also seen nearly $75,000 distributed to local graduating seniors to further their education. In all, approximately 70 students have benefitted from these scholarships.

In no time was the need for a local foundation more critical than during the 2013 flood. Because LCF existed, the “Rebuild Lyons One Life at a Time” grant program was able to spring into action, awarding over $1M to local residents and businesses when they needed it most. Funds were given out within three months of the flood to address critical needs.

In the early months of the Covid pandemic and economic crisis, the Lyons Community Foundation launched “The Lyons Share – a small business economic relief fund” in partnership with the St. Vrain Market. The fund, seeded with proceeds from the market and matched by LCF, was designed to help local businesses survive the impact of Covid’s forced business closures. With the added donations from the Town of Lyons and area residents, the Lyons Share Fund provided $43,000 to local businesses in 2020.

As you can see, it’s been a busy and productive 15 years since our founding. Thank you to everyone who has donated and volunteered over the years. All of us at LCF are inspired by your dedication and commitment to this town we call home. We can’t wait to see what the next 15 years will bring, and we’re committed to keep making a difference in the lives of all who live here.

Kate Schnepel is the Marketing and Communications Associate for Lyons Community Foundation. She moved to Lyons in 2019 with her husband and daughter, and spent nearly three years as a member of LCF’s Advisory Board before moving into her current consulting role.

The Lyons Redstone Museum is closed for the winter and will reopen weekends in May of 2023. In the meantime we invite you to explore our virtual offerings on our website, redstonehistory.com and to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you would like to support the Lyons Redstone Museum and our efforts to preserve Lyons’ history, donations may be sent to PO Box 9, Lyons, CO. 80540.

Sawyer-Lang

This sandstone marker, located on Cook Mountain, commemorates Aquilla Cook. It reads: Aquilla Cook died here Apr. 20,1868. Age 35 yrs. Over 3 yrs. before found.

Jelena Caplan combines Reiki, music, natural medicine, landscape and botanical design

By Tamara Haddad Redstone Review

LYONS – Jelena Caplan has a theory that explains how music and the earth have vibrations, and Reiki works with those same vibrations to heal the mind, body, and soul.

But to get to this point, we must look back almost two decades to when Caplan began studying at the Chicago Botanic Garden in its renowned plant conservation science program. The Chicago Botanic Garden is a living museum of plants on nine islands. It features 27 display gardens in four natural habitats on 365 acres.

“When I studied there and learned about botany and landscape design, I really felt I was in a healing realm,” said Caplan. “A year later, I moved to Colorado and attended Boulder’s Natural School of Medicine. It seemed like a natural progression.” At the school, Caplan dove into the science of essential oils and healing techniques in massage therapy. Speed ahead to 2023, and Caplan is Planet Bluegrass’s landscape and botanical designer and sole proprietor of Soul Shine Reiki in Lyons.

“Everything I have studied and practiced leads to Reiki,” Caplan said. Reiki (pronounced “ray-key”) is an Eastern therapy that is based on the idea that vital energy flows through your body.” By gently touching or placing their hands just above the body, a practitioner can guide this energy in a way that promotes balance and healing. The idea is that a certified Reiki practitioner uses gentle touch or places their hands just above your body to help guide this energy in a way that promotes balance and healing.

Caplan’s passion for working with botanicals and landscaping offers her tools as a Reiki healer.

“Working with the land at Planet (Bluegrass), like the Chicago Botanic Garden, is nourishing,” said Caplan. “But it’s more than working with plants. I’m on 20-some acres with the river and all the birds, animals, sounds, and smells. There is a vibration that resonates within and outside the body. Synergistically, Reiki is like working with the land. It’s very grounding, and when you’re healing or doing energy work, you need that grounding because you need to be connected.”

According to Pamela Miles, a Reiki master and re-

searcher based in New York City who has worked with Harvard and Yale medical schools to build Reiki programs, “Reiki is a spiritual discipline, just like meditation. It is not a religion.” Reiki is an ancient Buddhist practice of manual healing therapy that was rediscovered in Japan by Mikao Usui in the mid-1800s.

About 50 years before Rockefeller discovered petroleum as his family’s money-making machine and created the drug-filled western medicine practice that is common today, “We lost much wisdom when western medicine was introduced,” Caplan said. “Our society became out of touch with its ability to heal with vibration. But we never forgot completely. We gravitate toward vibrations naturally. We are looking for life’s energy flow. It is very much like music’s effect on a person; it promotes balance and healing.”

Music goes deep in Caplan’s family. “We all played multiple instruments at any given time,” said Caplan. She grew up playing the mandolin, piano, cello, violin, bass, and oboe. Later in life, she went on a sojourn and created her own medicine drum from animal hide and other earthly elements. Along with the drum, her Reiki studio has singing bowls and a water fountain whispering its vibrations to the soul. “Music can tap into your body,” said Caplan. Reiki, like music, enhances the body’s natural ability to heal itself. “It increases vitality, releases blocked energy, and relieves stress,” she said.

When all these things come together, they make a peaceful and relaxing space that helps clients reach a deep state of relaxation and healing. Caplan believes that the use of music and other sound therapies can enhance the effectiveness of Reiki and provide a more holistic approach to healing.

Reiki is now widely used in the United States. Reiki has been used more frequently in hospitals and medical facilities to treat a wide range of conditions. For example, veterans affairs offices nationwide have hired Reiki practitioners to help veterans with PTSD. According to the PTSD checklist, patients who used Reiki saw a clinically significant reduction in their PTSD symptoms of 14 points, according to a recent study from the Military Medical Journal.

This therapy has also been found to reduce stress, anx-

Local loan funds for small businesses in Lyons

By Kim Mitchell Redstone Review

LYONS – As many small business owners in Lyons know, seasonality is a struggle. While many of our small local businesses thrive in the summer months, the effects of seasonality can be apparent during the rest of the year, especially during the dark and cold winter months.

For the past 10 years, the local small businesses in Lyons have had access to a super local Revolving Loan Fund. These funds are currently very low interest loans for our small businesses to access funds for working capital or inventory needs.

There are two different funding mechanisms: Federal USDA grant monies and a local business recovery fund, initiated with the support of regional local businesses after the 2013 flood. To date a total of 36 local Lyons businesses have tapped into this short-term loan program. Both funds together have funding totals of approximately $135,000.

Yet, the amazing structure of a Revolving Loan Fund means that as one loan is being paid back, other loans can continue to happen concurrently with the ongoing payments. How does this resonate in Lyons? The USDA granted a total of $75,000 in funds with two distributions for Lyons in 2012 and again in 2018.

Over the past 10 years, $103,000 has been loaned and paid back, with those funds eligible to be reloaned. Hence the moniker, Revolving Loan Fund. Just three years ago as the nation endured the global shutdown due to Covid, the funds were able to support 16 local businesses who weren’t sure what the next few months would bring. And again, those businesses paid off each of their business loans

and funds were able to continue to be loaned again to other businesses.

The business recovery fund was started and seeded with $60,000 of funding from regional small business owners after the flood. That fund has had $101,000 in funds loaned out and paid back, allowing the repayments to the fund to support another eight local businesses in Lyons currently.

iety, and depression levels in cancer patients. Reiki is a non-invasive therapy that uses energy to promote healing and relaxation. It is becoming more popular as a supplement to traditional medicine because it works well and has few side effects. Jelena Caplan’s practice is based out of her home in Lyons, and she accepts clients by appointment. To learn more about Reiki and schedule a free consultation, visit www.soulshinereiki.com

Tamara Vega Haddad is an advocate for small businesses and Lyons’ economic development. She has an Interior Design Certificate, specializing in Biophilic Design, and works with Tucker Real Estate Group as an agent.

Vitality Commission, noted, “It is a self-replenishing pool of money, utilizing interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones. The Revolving Loan Funds are an important component in our work to provide affordable loans for the business community.”

As Lyons continues to adapt and grow, how can we sustain and strengthen our local economy in the future? The Revolving Loan Fund is one tool in the local toolbox. But in order to be truly sustainable and successful, our local small businesses rely on the support of all of us, our residents, friends and visitors.

Our local businesses are gathering places which bring the community together, sharing ideas, stories and a positive vibe. Economic sustainability can be strengthened with local events in the off-season and encouraging visitation from October through May, but most importantly with your local support year-round. The best way to support economic growth and our local business success is by frequenting and using them all year. The December fire in our commercial corridor added another layer of impact on local business owners.

Our local service and business owners are all entrepreneurs and part of the tapestry of Lyons. Their success is a success for Lyons as a whole, ensuring that our residents have access to amenities and services, strengthening their business success and helping to keep our downtown vibrant and vital.

Embracing the “support local” vibe is good all around. Be a local champion and support the business community in Lyons which includes our local service businesses, retail and restaurants.

Paul Dreyer, Chair of the

Lyons Economic

The application procedure and loan process are managed by a local group of committed volunteers who understand balance sheets, income statements and interview the business. Town staff manages the paperwork and documentation.

Kim Mitchell is Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Town of Lyons, and has called Lyons home since 2009.

Jelena Caplan is a Reiki practioner who finds that her healing skills are informed by the natural world and music.

Alone with your thoughts

By Peter Butler Redstone Review

LYONS – When you are out with your dog, on a lonely trail or quiet dirt road, you can let your mind wander. You can become your own internal philosopher and entertainer. One might consider large swathes of complete nonsense with no consequences at all.

No risk of criticism or teasing from an adjacent observer. If you can stop trying to remember what you intended to put on the shopping list, or whether you missed the tax filing deadline, or other household worries, you can have mental free time. It’s not quite meditating but it’s very calming. And fun too.

Questions are good places to start. Did the paper airplane exist before the Wright brothers did their flight thing at Kittyhawk? And if so, were Orville and Wilbur aware of it, and did it influence their engineering? Sadly, we need a mentally agile supercentenarian to tell us the answer.

Short aside for younger readers: Paper used to dominate the planet as the primary exchanger of information and ideas, but you have to make the marks on it yourself with a pen. No amount of clicking, swiping or pinching will make an emoji appear JSYK – (just so you know, for the uninitiated). A papyrus Concorde must be one of the simplest bits of aeronautical engineering ever contrived. Take a sheet of 8 1/2 by 11, fold it about five times, and you have fashioned an anti-gravity machine that requires almost no input of energy. Even Elon Musk can’t do that.

And all this is important information that you are completely free to peruse at length when you are walking the dog. The dog is looking after her own needs. Dog philos-

ophy is hard to gauge, but it usually centers around, “Where is the closest rabbit?”

Digging deeper, we might wonder if the pulp-derived flying machine did exist prior to 1903, then when was it economically acceptable, and not considered wasteful, to make one? I have a vivid image in my head of medieval monks scratching away in their scriptorium, painstakingly hand scribing copies of the Bible in beauti ful Gothic script using pens made from goose feathers.

One of them is quietly humming a raunchy new song by Hildegard Von Bingen. He always was a wild one, that Brother Tristan. The white surfaces they are inking would be parchment, one of the most expensive com modities in the world in 1150. Imagine if eightyear-old Ethelwulf sneaks in, grabs a sheet and starts folding. He might be a genius but he just put his family into debt for a few months.

But, by the time Gutenberg began creating moveabletype printing in 1455, the method of making of paper from eucalyptus trees had already been stolen from the Chinese, and it was much cheaper. That was in the days when intellectual property theft went in the other direction. I wonder if Marco Polo brought origami, as well as pasta, back to Venice in 1295? All the origami I know is that flapping bird thingy.

All this perambulatory cogitation insists on lack of interruption. Total daydreaming. I wonder whether the word daydream might even become obsolete soon? Most

The coin they carried 166 years ago

By Greg Lowell Redstone Review

LYONS – I have a Bank of Upper Canada penny, dated 1857. The coin is pure copper and is about the size a U.S. dollar coin. (Upper Canada was today’s Ontario, “up” above the Great Lakes.)

Numismatically, the coin isn’t worth much. Some on eBay are going for $90 but that’s in pristine condition. Mine is worn with a ding or two on the edge.

But I’m not interested in a coin’s value unless it’s a 1955, double-die obverse Lincoln cent which is valued today at $2,000. That’s a penny that the Philadelphia mint night shift crew didn’t notice was doublestruck and a few went out the door, creating a frenzy among numismatists and an 11-year-old poring over handfuls of pennies searching for the one that could buy him a new bike.

Coin collecting was my thing for a couple years until I cashed in my nickels, dimes and pennies to buy baseball cards (the jury’s still out on which ended up being more valuable, but today I’d take a ‘67 Carl Yastrzemski card over a buffalo nickel).

Value aside, for me there was always romance in old coins. Some are worn so

B R I E F S

Local sales tax receipts for 2022: A snapshot of sales taxes in Lyons

LYONS – Each month the Finance Director reports on revenues including sales tax receipts to the Board of Trustees. For fiscal year 2022, sales tax remittance for Lyons was up approximately 7.8 percent ($128,000) over 2021. When you shop locally, you’re showing your

much they are barely recognizable, but that only heightens my imagination. How many hands did a quarter pass through to get worn so smooth that Lady Liberty is now but a faint shadow?

My Upper Canada penny particularly sparks my curiosity as I’m pretty sure I know where it came from and how it found its way into my hands.

of us spend so much time connected to a phone, air pods, TV or tablet that it is hard to find a vacant moment. Even when you are driving your car I bet the radio is going.

If I ever get a smart phone, I promise to leave it at home. Even through the medium of newsprint I can almost hear a collective gasp, but I am privileged to be in an elite group of three independent thinkers, myself, John M. and Jon B. None of us has a smart phone, and the miracle is, we can actually live our lives. As long as society begrudgingly allows us to continue, that is.

You call it Android, we call it shackles. In my personal mood of denial, I constantly reassess how much longer I can survive the modern world without one. Will I be able to pay for anything, get through an airport, validate my identity on my bank’s web site? I think the period of my continuing telegraphic innocence is very short.

When I tell that to ordinary people, in the period before their jaw starts to go slack and hang open in astonishment, I try to convince them having no phone gives you more time for random contemplation. But that doesn’t assuage their confusion.

So, after you tell the dog to “Come, sit, stay,” maybe your canine should respond “Disconnect, think, dream.”

Peter Butler was born in India and lived in a house facing a giant kapok tree. Growing up in England there were trees but never quite enough. After qualifying as biochemist there as a gradual evolution into being a graphic designer. He and his wife Deirdre moved to the States in 1997 and to Lyons in 2000. Finally, there are enough trees.

My French-Canadian great-grandparents were part of a great Canadian immigration in the 1890s as a result of both the labor demand of New England’s expanding mills and the social conditions in Quebec, where French-speaking Catholics – despite being a majority – were discriminated against.

There’s news these days about the uptick in crossings between the U.S. and Canada, but during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, citizens of both countries moved freely back and forth across the northern border. The U.S. Border Patrol wasn’t established until 1924 and there were no border checkpoints back then.

It was in this cultural interchange that my greatgrandfather Regis Labrecque, with no doubt a few Upper Canada coins jingling in his pocket, bundled up his wife Sara and nine children (including my then six-year old grandfather Ulric) in 1891 and headed for Westbrook, Maine, where the mills promised employment and wages not available in Quebec.

At some point, the Canadian currency he carried was replaced by the U.S. currency he earned at the paper mill and the penny may have found its way into a cigar box as a memento of the life he left behind

in favor of the new and prosperous life in Maine among a French-Canadian expatriate community whose heritage echoes through the mill town even today.

Somewhere along the line the penny came into my mother’s possession, and it never saw the light of day until I cleaned out her longtime (and my childhood) home we sold after five decades.

Now, 165 years after it was minted and made its circuitous way into my mom’s keepsake jewelry box after perhaps being slapped on a bar by a thirsty Quebecois trapper in the 1860s, then passed on to a Canadian merchant for a rifle cartridge or given to an Algonquin hunter in exchange for venison jerky and then jangled in a hundred pockets and purses, it came to a young Regis Labrecque before he left his homeland, and finally to me.

It sits on my bureau here in Colorado, thousands of miles from its origin, to remind me of my heritage and the pasts of all those who came – and still come – to the U.S. to become part of the interwoven fabric of America.

Few of us are originals here. We all come from somewhere else. And while we forge lives radically different from our ancestors, we hold on to the artifacts that remind us of our roots, like a coin whose value lies not in its monetary worth but in its history.

Lyons’ resident Greg Lowell is a former Lyons Town Board Trustee and serves as the chair of the Ecology Advisory Board.

support of our local businesses, helping your community and making an impact.

Public transportation options in Lyons

LYONS – The Town of Lyons has partnered with Boulder County for over a decade to ensure public transportation for the community of Lyons. The Town of Lyons is a part of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) and in Lyons there is a 1.0 percent sales tax collected and remitted to RTD. This pays for much of the public transit in the region. Lyons used to have

Full Service Plumbing & Heating Repair

RTD bus service, but the pandemic, together with driver shortages and service reductions, brought an end to service for Lyons. However, this gap has been filled by Boulder County.

Lyons now has the Lyons Flyer which provides the same service, as the previous RTD Y route, of two trips to Boulder in the morning and two trips to Lyons in the afternoon/evening, Monday thru Friday. The service is free to all riders and is paid for by Boulder County and reimbursed by RTD.

In addition, the town contracts with zTrip, which provides ADA accessible transportation

for residents to and from Longmont daily, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m; to and from Boulder on weekends, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and weekdays, when there is no Lyons Flyer service. This program is paid 75 percent by Boulder County and 25 percent by the Town of Lyons.

Boulder County has planned for approximately $30K annually for the zTrip program. RTD did reimburse half the costs in 2021, but due to tighter insurance requirements they were unable to reimburse anything in 2022.

Continue Briefs on Page 15

Lowell

The author’s great-grand parents Regis and Sara Labrecque.

Drinking, it was fun for a while

By John Gierach Redstone Review

LYONS – I quit drinking over 30 years ago, but, unlike some, I can’t quote you the exact number of elapsed years, months and weeks. In retrospect, it seems like it should have been a momentous occasion, but at the time it was just a chore that needed to be done. The choice had finally become one of either drinking too much or not at all, and not at all finally seemed prudent for all the usual reasons.

I did talk to my doctor about it. He said, “Well, one drink with dinner wouldn’t hurt you,” I said, “What the hell is the point of one drink?” and we exchanged the look of two men sharing a simultaneous epiphany. I don’t think I was an alcoholic because I didn’t go through withdrawal when I quit, hence the lack of an anniversary. There were no shakes and sweats, no bugs crawling under my skin, no pink elephants; just a vague sentimental longing as if for a comfortable old pair of boots that had finally worn out and had to be thrown away. But alcoholic or not, I regularly drank more than I should have and – although I’m not proud of it – I occasionally drove drunk. That often happened in the company of an old friend I used to fish and drink with, usually in that order. We’d leave the trailhead on the South Platte River and drive to the nearest town of Pine, where we’d buy a six pack. By the time we got to Aspen Park, we’d have polished that off and would stop for another. Back in Boulder I’d drop off my friend. He’d dump his gear by the front door and pour himself a whiskey, while I’d go to Greenbelt Liquor and get one more can of beer to get me the last 20 miles home to Lyons, where I’d sometimes have to try more than once to get my key in the lock.

I never had an accident and never got stopped by the police. I realize now that that was the same kind of dumb luck I’ve experienced in other areas and that makes me suspect I live a charmed life – which is

a dangerous idea. That friend was the only person I knew who raised an eyebrow when I quit drinking. In fact, he used to tease me. While I’d nurse a mineral water with a twist of lime, he’d sniff, sip and sigh over his double Canadian Club in order to make it look as luscious as I knew it was. But he quickly realized that although he’d lost a drinking

“Last Man Standing” theory.

I don’t remember what we were drinking, but it came in shot glasses with beer chasers and we drank way too much of it. I fell into the spirit of the thing if only because I understood that I’d be ridiculed if I didn’t keep up. So I kept up. It wasn’t that hard.

The next morning I woke up in bed at home, on top of the covers, half undressed, still with one foot on the floor to stop the dreaded black whirlies. I couldn’t remember how I got there.

lent or even reckless when I drank, but I’d also never had this lost time before and it worried me. For weeks afterward, whenever there was a knock on my door I expected it to be the cops.

Honestly, I don’t know if it was the blackout that finally made me quit drinking or the resulting hangover. It was epic. A migraine-level headache, dry heaves, existential malaise accompanied by a mouthfull of burnt fur and so on – a long list of miserable symptoms that made having polio as a child seem like a sneezing fit by comparison. This wasn’t the hangover that says you had a little too much fun last night; this was the one that says your body is struggling to stay alive after being poisoned. I felt like the poet Dylan Thomas who, it turns out, didn’t die exclusively of alcohol poisoning at age 39, although the 18 whiskies at a single sitting didn’t help any.

I didn’t go to AA meetings or endure the Twelve Steps. I just decided I didn’t want to drink anymore and, after a few false starts and sleepless nights, it stuck. I didn’t go around making amends, either. I felt then, and still feel now, as if I could have been the guy in the old Irish drinking ballad who sings,

All the money ere I made, I spent it in good company, And all the harm that ere I did, Alas, was done to none but me.

buddy, he’d gained a designated driver, so he could continue to get sloshed on the way home from fishing without the inherent risk. He’s in his 80s now and still drinks either a little too much or just the right amount. Who’s to say?

But the time I scared myself driving drunk was the time I can’t remember. I went out for “a drink” with some people from the sports desk at the newspaper I wrote for at the time. Of course reporters were known to drink then, but sportswriters were the worst. I think covering competitive events every day had convinced them that drinking was just another contest that could only be resolved with one winner and a whole bunch of losers – the

I went outside to see if my pickup was there. It was leaning heavily against the fence with the driver’s door open and the key in the ignition. It had been left running, so the gas tank was empty and the battery was dead. Luckily someone – presumably me – had at least put it in neutral. Then, in a kind of slow motion panic, I went over every inch of the vehicle looking for dents, scratches, paint scrapings or – God forbid – blood. There was nothing.

Then I threw up.

No one glared at me or glanced away in embarrassment the next time I went into the newsroom, so I assumed I hadn’t done anything awful – except of course to myself. I’d never been mean or angry or vio-

Library program decodes clues from animal tracks; Neil Sullivan presents his work in Ethiopia

By Kara Bauman Redstone Review

Which is to say, I did lose friends and girlfriends and a wife and a couple of jobs during the years I was drinking, but I’m convinced it wasn’t because of drinking; it was because of other things that aren’t so easily fixed with a single act of willpower. But that’s a whole other story.

There was bad news and good news. The bad news was, I dearly loved beer, still love it from afar, and one of the great regrets of my life is that I stopped drinking just when all the great craft breweries were starting up. The good news was, it was a hell of a lot easier to quit Coors Lite than it would have been to give up Dale’s Pale Ale.

Do I miss drinking? Yes, but not desperately.

Do I feel guilty that quitting was easy for me when it’s so hard and sometimes impossible for others? No, not even a little bit.

LYONS

– Youth Services Librarian

Becki Loughlin would like to remind our local families and youngest visitors that there will be a brief storytime pause during spring break. Storytimes for babies and their caregivers followed by playtime take place on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. and storytimes for preschoolers and their caregivers, followed by a craft, take place on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. The next session of storytime will resume the week of March 28.

Bauman

Those ages 5 to 10 and their accompanying adults are invited to join environmental educator Deborah Price, formerly with the City of Fort Collins and Boulder County Parks and Open Space, for an exploration of Wildlife Secrets: Discovering Clues from Animal Tracks and Signs on Wednesday, March 22 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Explore the various clues animals leave behind in our spring snow through stories and activities.

Area teens and tweens in grades 6 to 12 are invited to put their taste buds to the test during an afterhours Teen Taste Test Challenge on Friday, March 31 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Teens who are jelly bean aficionados, those who think they might be able to determine assorted Oreo flavors, or those

who just like snacks are encouraged to battle against their friends in various taste test challenges. This event was conceived by the Teen Advisory Group that meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Upcoming programs for adults include the next installment of the Busy Reader’s Book Club that meets every other month, now in-person at 11 a.m. and virtually the same evening at 7 p.m. Join us on Thursday, March 30 at either session for a lively discussion of The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, a lyrical and deeply thoughtprovoking novel that celebrates words and the power of language to shape the world.

Following rave reviews of Rebekah Shardy’s Earth Speaks program in January, we are inviting her back on Saturday, April 11 at 10 a.m. for a workshop on Wild and Soulful Aging. She will invite participants to look at the end of life in entirely new and different ways. One can expect to consider such questions as: “What are the psychological gifts of growing older? What can one expect from the experience of dying?” and “What are some cultural insights into the afterlife?”

Join local artists Sally King and April Tierney in an active conversation between the two creatives on Saturday, April 8 from 10:30 a.m. to12 p.m. King, respectfully considered an elder within the Lyons community, is well known for visual art, but also enjoys writing and exploring

Dan’s Quality Tree Care

the edges of human creativity. Tierney is a published poet who lives in Spring Gulch and often performs readings around the Front Range. Listen in as they engage in intergenerational dialogue around the creative process and ask one another questions about being an artist at their different places along the spectrum of life.

Did you miss Neil Sullivan’s captivating presentation about his work in Ethiopia at Spirit Hound in February? By popular demand, we are inviting him to the library on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. for a repeat performance. Sullivan will discuss his Boulder-based non-profit work with Pride Ethiopia which focuses on educational opportunities and rural improvement for under-served children and villages. Come experience remote Ethiopia through gorgeous photos and first-hand stories.

The Lyons Community Library opens Monday through Saturday at 10 a.m. We close at 5 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays; 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Our online catalog is available 24/7 at lyons.colibraries.org and we’re always open for digital downloads on both the Libby and CloudLibrary apps.

Give us a call at 303-823-5165 or email info@lyonslibrary.com with any questions. Please see the calendar of events on our website for additional program information and for registration instructions.

Kara Bauman is the Director of the Lyons Community Library and holds an MLIS from the University of Kentucky. She’s an avid fly angler, enjoys craft beer, and in non-COVID times travels extensively to see her favorite band, Widespread Panic.

Gierach

DraMagic makes its debut performance with Vasalisa, at Lyons Library

By Priscilla Cohan Redstone Review

LYONS – Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission (LAHC) and the Town of Lyons Arts and Cultural Services, will host a variety of events this spring.

Spring in Lyons is going to burst. January and February were the cloudiest, most wintery months I can remember in Boulder County. Only four sunny days in January. When the colors begin to pop they will come with even more vibrance in contrast to the dull months of winter.

ative spirit. Many artful moments are upon us here in Lyons as winter gives way to spring.

Local children’s theater company DraMagic, is presenting its debut performance, Vasalisa at the Lyons Regional Library. Vasalisa is the story of a young girl who must journey into the dark forest on a quest to find Baba Yaga, the wild witch who eats naughty children. She must heed the wisdom of her late mother, imbued in the doll she carries in her pocket, if she is to overcome the witch's tasks and return home a little wiser, and wilder than before.

“Vasalisa is a story of handing down the blessing ... of intuition ... from one generation to the next,” said Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves.

The play is produced and performed by DraMagic Children’s Theatre Group, a grassroots theatre program started in Lyons in 2022 with the aim of giving children a space to explore their full creative expression through engaging with story and dramatic arts.

Come and support our local budding actors and help build Lyons community theatre. This performance is sponsored by the Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission and in partnership with the Lyons Regional library. Performances are, March 17, 7 p.m., Saturday, March 18, 12 p.m. and Saturday, March 18 at 5 p.m.

April 7. Deliver pieces for the new show at this same time. Only two-dimensional works will be accepted, and work must be ready to hang with a wire or professional hanging device balanced on the back of each piece. Each artist may bring up to five pieces.

Have you ever noticed how saturated colors look against a grey backdrop? How bright those crocus blooms look against the grey and brown of a sleeping garden? Best time of year to grab a paint brush and splash some color into the grey palette of our sleeping garden.

Spring inspires me to paint, and the rush of changing seasons is a great time to give in to the creative impulse, to start a daily diary or a simple creative act. Scratching away the leaves and dirt in the garden, waking up the soil is a great way to usher in warmer months and feed the cre-

The Lyons Arts and Humanities Council organizes quarterly art shows that are open to everyone. Cultivating Change, paintings, photographs, and collage work from the first quarterly LAHC Town Hall Art Show of 2023, is on display until April 7. Town Hall is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Council Chambers, where the Town Hall Art Show is displayed, is open subject to meeting schedules. Stop by or call 303-823-6622 ext. 66.

Oh, the Places You Have Gone art show opens to the public Wednesday, April 12 at 5 p.m. The great changing of the show at Town Hall will occur on April 7, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Please remember to pick up your pieces from Cultivating Change between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

By Terry de Castro Redstone Review

LYONS – Before 2020 and everything that came with it, I had been unfamiliar with the “bingo card” metaphor. For example, it was probably not on anyone’s bingo card that wearing a mask in a pandemic would become a divisive, politicized issue. It was certainly not on my bingo card that I would be giving so much thought to statues.

I used to live in England. I was an American immigrant there for 13 years and spent four of them, from 1990 to 1993, living in Bristol. I would walk past Colston Hall and a statue of Bristol merchant Edward Colston on a regular basis. I gave no thought to who Colston was, unaware that he was a slave trader and that a controversy had been brewing for decades. Nearly 30 years later, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Colston’s statue was pulled down by protestors and dragged into Bristol Harbor.

2020 was a year of rethinking statues: some came down; some went up. On August 26, a statue went up in New York City’s Central Park, a bronze sculpture of suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth. It was the first statue in Central Park to feature real (as opposed to fictional) women and was erected to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of (White) women’s suffrage that came with the ratification of the 19th

Amendment.

The project was made possible by nonprofit organization, Monumental Women, which sought to “break the bronze ceiling.” While the statue is a huge step in the right direction, it received criticism during its inception and after its completion. When the monument was first designed, it was only to feature Anthony and Stanton, which would have overlooked the vital contributions African American women made in the fight for women’s rights. The figure of Sojourner Truth was added to the design in an attempt to rectify this.

That the statue depicts these three women working together seems to gloss over racial tensions that existed in the women’s suffrage movement. Both Anthony and Stanton favored the fight for (White) women’s right to vote over the African American’s right to vote, believing that it was more important, and both came to oppose the 15th amendment.

Sojourner Truth was an American legend; she was fiercely intelligent, committed, witty, eloquent, and compassionate. She was born into slavery in the late 19th century. One year before abolition took effect, she was promised her freedom, but the promise was not kept, and she famously walked (she did not run, because she knew she was in the right) to freedom with her infant daughter.

She won the case for legal custody of her five-year-old son who had been illegally sold, making her the first woman of color to

Mark your calendars. When summer arrives in all her glory it will be time for the Third Annual Lyons Summer Artisan Market, Sunday, June 4 in Bohn Park. Set up your 10 by 10 foot booth along the shore of the St. Vrain. Bohn Park will be abuzz with festivities. Concurrent with the Artisan Market is the Lyons Community Foundation BBQ Picnic and live local music with the Blue Canyon Boys. Applications for the market are open until mid-May. Stay tuned for details and put this on your calendar if you are a maker or a picnic lover. Neighbors, visitors and friends enjoying a lovely artful day in the park is an excellent way to welcome summer to Lyons.

win a lawsuit against a White man. She went on to become involved in numerous successful cases that fought for justice for African American women. She was an abolitionist, nurse, traveling preacher (hence her name, which she changed from Isabella Baumfree), orator, suffragist, and human rights advocate, travelling extensively giving passionate speeches to rapt audiences.

She is possibly best known for her speech Ain’t I a Woman, delivered at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. She spoke powerfully about, among other things, her experiences as a Black woman in America and how she endured both racism and sexism, perhaps making her one of the earliest “intersec-

tional feminists.” The speech is not only remarkable for its message but also for its history. There are two versions of it, one that was transcribed when she delivered it, and a vastly different one that was adapted years later in 1863 which became the definitive version.

A fascinating and succinct website, The Sojourner Truth Project, created by Leslie Podell, investigates and compares the history of the two versions. The first version was transcribed, possibly quite faithfully, by a friend of Truth’s, Marius Robinson. The later, more famous version was adapted by abolitionist and women’s rights advocate, Frances Dana Gage in 1863. Be-

Priscilla Cohan is a local artist who works in multimedia. She works for the Town of Lyons and is a liaison to the Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission.

The story of Sojourner Truth reveals painful inequities in our history

On August 26, 2020, a bronze sculpture of suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth was installed in New York City’s Central Park.

Back row, left to right: Luke Alston, Mearn McDonald, Anya Alston, Imogen Hart, Rumi Hollingsead. Front row, left to right: Tallulah Johnson, River Mayo, Skyler Mayo, Trea McDonald Inset at left: Alice Hart. PHOTO BY GAUTAM BHAN

Left to right: Rumi Hollingsead, Skyler Mayo, Imogen Hart, River Mayo, Meran McDonald, Tallulah Johnson, Trea McDonald, Esther van Zyl. Not pictured: Alice Hart, Anya Alston, Luke Alston PHOTO BY KATE HART

Jane Burke, new curator at BMoCA

By Sally King Redstone Review

LYONS – Jane Burke is the new curator at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMOCA) and a long-time friend, 25 years my junior. Jane and I toured the spring exhibition of four Aspen area artists, Charmaine Locke, James Surls, Richard Carter and Jody Guralnick and I so enjoyed our aligned conversation about the art world.

Charmaine Locke is painter using only the color red. Her husband, James Surls, is a wood and metal artist. They share the main gallery space. I, too, am married to an artist so it was fun to see where or if their work is related.

Curator as translator

By Jane Burke Redstone Review

It is beautiful gallery space that honors each artist’s work and is a spacious experience for the viewer. This particular show is up through May.

I recommend a visit. The museum at 1750 13th St. in Boulder, and it is open every day except Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there’s a $2 fee, with parking out front.

Sally King is a local artist who has created whimsical bears and delightful wild flower acrylic paintings to enhance the appearance of Lyons all over the town. She lives with her husband John King, a kinetic sculptor artist, near Lyons. You can find her on her blog and website: hersoupot.net and sallywhiteking.com.

I’ve always looked to art as a primary language to express what can not be said in words.

I voraciously studied and practiced art making through college

And I can vouch that being an artist is one of the most difficult professions to pursue especially in the face of capitalistic authoritarianism and the delegitimization of art as a necessity.

I take on the philosophy that curators help to map out archipelagos.

In other words, I’m drawing out the intersections exposing our interconnectivity, intersectionality and intergenerational knowledge.

Exhibitions happen to be my format of choice

This form of education through contemporary art is seemingly more urgent than ever in order to combat divisive politics, nationalism, capitalism, exploitation.

My goal is to create expansive conversations versus reductive ones.

The role of the artist has historically always played a critical role in communicating world views

And art is ultimately a conduit to something larger than ourselves and in this climate, is able to occupy more liminal states of being – where absolutism isn’t the goal.

In this way, I see art and artists as a subversive form of activism by simply being without controlling an outcome.

A conversation between two artists

You are invited

To an Intergenerational Conversation

Between two artists Sally King and April Tierney

April 8 from 10:30 a.m. until 12 noon at the Lyons Library. Coffee and tea will be served. Please join us. April is our local lovingly fierce poet, And Sally is an aspiring writer and visual artist Maker of the well know bear sculptures in town.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Remembering Bernadette Carey Smith

By Jim Ramsay Redstone Review

LYONS – Bernadette

Carey Smith, celebrated as a New York fashionista and one of the first Black reporters for The New York Times and The Washington Post, passed away in relative obscurity in an assisted living facility in upstate New York on December 5, 2022 at the age of 83. She had been suffering from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Her death was only brought to the attention of The New York Times at the beginning of March, according to Neil Genzlinger, who wrote her obituary for the Times on March 3.

Bernadette Carey Smith was born in New York in 1939, the daughter of a fam-

ily physician and a lifetime member of the NAACP. She graduated from Smith College with a degree in history in 1961 and worked at Esquire and Look magazines before she got her job at the Times

When

Bernadette Carey first walked into the newsroom at the Times in October 1965, she didn’t see many familiar faces. In fact, she didn’t see any faces that looked like hers because she was one of the first Black women to be hired as a reporter at the Times. She was hired to work on the Food, Fashions, Family, and Furnishing section of the paper, the women’s section, which was largely dismissed as frivolous by those who worked in the hard news sections.

But she stuck it out for two years writing puff pieces about fashion and celebrities until she landed a job at The Washington Post that promised assignments of more

substantial news events. At the Post she covered the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign planned by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. which took place after his assassination, and in the same year she wrote a report of what it is like to be a Black female inmate from inside the Washington Women’s Detention Center.

She left the Post after two years as well, this time to start a new magazine for Black women called Sapphire The name Sapphire did not catch on, so it was renamed Essence. In the ensuing change of (mostly male) leadership at Essence she was shuffled out, so she went to work at Vogue for a year. She met television personality David Frost at a party in 1968, and they began dating at the end of 1969.

He dumped her after a year, and she went on to Chicago to do advertising and public relations for Fashion Fair Cosmetics. She married Bruce Smith, an executive at the American Communications Group, in 1980 and moved back to New York where she began her successful real estate sales career. Her marriage to Bruce Smith lasted 33 years until his death in 2015.

Bernadette Smith had a great sense of style that helped her find her way into the upper circles of New York and Washington society. When Ms. Smith walked into a room, everyone took notice of her poise and beauty. She may not be as well known as many of the Black civil rights leaders of the 60s, but she will be remembered for being in the vanguard of Black Americans brave

enough to storm the barricades of White male dominated institutions like The New York Times and The Washington Post

Jim Ramsay was raised in Iowa, Iran, Nigeria and Afghanistan. He studied English at CU in Boulder and taught English as a Second Language in Tanzania, Botswana, the University of Illinois and the Economics Institute at CU. An affinity for computers led him to technical writing, and he wrote manuals for tech companies up and down the Front Range. He moved from Boulder to Pinewood Springs in the early 1990s to follow a dream of mountain living, and he’s still up there.

Ramsay

Jane Burke is the curator of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA)

King

A sculpture from Risa Friedman: Rectangled, now at BMoCA.

Above: The What Between Friends, painting by Sally King

Black-eyed Susans: Start seeding for sunny summer stars

By Jessie BertaThompson Redstone Review

LYONS – Between snowstorms, March brings the first flickers of green to the Colorado ground. While the overall impression is still brown, gray, and gold, up close tiny bright green forms are unearthing themselves. In gardens, early spring is an excellent time to sow wildflowers because winter wet and cold helps some seeds germinate. While the full glory of spring flow-

least August), an unstoppable source of color. The plants can get as tall as 3 feet, and the flowers as big as 3 inches across.

Black-eyes Susans are in the Sunflower or Aster family (Asteraceae), along with most other plants with daisy-shaped flowers. This is a giant plant family that includes other cheerful garden-friendly Colorado wildflowers, like Prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera), blanket flower (Gailllarida aristata) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus).

Black-eyed Susans are widespread across the US and Canada. They grow across prairie, foothills, and montane ecosystems.

perennial or biennial, but it can last longer by re-seeding by itself or spreading by underground rhizomes. The plants like full sun and are moderately drought tolerant. It’s an early successional species, adapted to recently disturbed conditions, thriving in open, sunny places created after fires, along roadsides and other cleared areas, making it a commonly deployed species for habitat restoration.

Beyond this recent application, people have long appreciated this plant for more than its beauty. In the Cherokee tradition, root decoctions from Black-eyed Susan are used to treat worm infections, sores, snakebites, and earaches. The Potawatomi use root teas to treat colds and the flowers to dye rushes yellow for use in making mats. Seminoles use a tea from the flowers to treat colds and fevers.

Each black-eyed Susan flower head produces 250 to 500 seeds, a preferred food for many birds. The plant hosts several types of caterpillars including the Silvery Checkerspot – a perky checkered and spotted orange butterfly – and its close relatives. Many fully grown butterflies and native bees feast on its nectar, making it an excellent addition to a pollinator-support garden.

early spring, to increase chance of flowering in first year.

ers is still a ways off, their shapes and colors become easier to imagine with every spark of spring green.

What about a mass of tumbling gold stars with alluring deep, dark centers? One Colorado wildflower species that’s easy to grow from seed is the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). It’s a daisy-shaped yellow flower with a graceful dome of rich purplish-black-brown for the center. Among the better-known wildflowers, it’s a classic part of seed mixes and farmer’s market bouquets.

The black-eyed Susan’s Latin name hirta means hairy, referring to tiny bristles covering the plant’s stems and leaves, making them rough to the touch. The stems are also purple-red in color. Black-eyed Susans bloom all summer long (June through at

The species is divided into subspecies found in different regions around the country – our local one is variety pulcherrima, meaning most beautiful. Zooming out on the family tree, there are around 20 species of the genus Rudbeckia in North America, three native to Colorado – the black-eyed Susan, the cutleaf coneflower or goldenglow (Rudbeckia laciniata) which is tall (6 to 10 feet) and favors streamsides and soggy meadows, and the montane coneflower (Rudbeckia montana) which has a striking upright center but only tiny green outer petals, unlikely to make the list in an ornamental garden. The first two can be spotted in all their glory at the Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens (RMBG) in Lyons come summer.

The black-eyed Susan is a short-lived

Interested in growing black-eyed Susans yourself? We’re pleased to report the addition of an RMBG bin in the Seed Bank at the Lyons Community Library. This bookcase of free seeds is intended as an ongoing community seed swap, full of saved garden seed and year-old packets from local seed companies. So far, we’ve added 127 packets from 20 species collected at the RMBG by our volunteers. As different species have different germination requirements and ease of growing, we recommend looking up their individual needs for best results. For example, looking at the USDA plant guide for this species, black-eyed Susan seeds should be planted indoors in

Black-eyed Susan seeds require no pretreatment to germinate. For outdoor planting, broadcast sow September through April, before average last frost. Start seeds indoors to increase chance of first year flowering, around March. Seeds should be pressed into the surface or lightly covered with soil. Maintain moist but not soggy conditions and bright light, and they should germinate in 2 weeks. Plant outside after danger of frost, with a hardening-off transition if possible.

In other garden news, regular RMBG volunteer hours will resume on Sunday, April 3, meeting every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m., until next winter’s frost sets in. All are welcome, on a drop-in basis, no preregistration required. Please bring work gloves and drinking water. Garden director Garima Fairfax has already pre-ordered about 325 plants to plant in the gardens this spring, and that’s just a start. We have also set the date for our annual spring plant sale – Saturday, May 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is always a wonderful day for our larger community to come out of winter hibernation and reconnect in the garden, which should look gorgeous by then.

Jessie Berta-Thompson studied algae in school, and loves gardening and learning about plants. She has a degree in biology. She currently serves as Treasurer on the Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens board and as an Adjunct Researcher at the Denver Botanic Gardens, where she works on the diversity and evolution of Colorado mushrooms.

Would you rather go through the discomfort of talking with your child about it now, or first find out about it after they have gone through with an attempt – or worse, actually died by it?

By Janaki Jane Redstone Review

LYONS – You do not want to think about it, I know. No one does. It hurts, it is uncomfortable, you might feel awkward, helpless, or angry.

But it keeps happening. People we know or live near or know about end up dead by suicide too often. It feels unbearable to feel our grief, to feel our guilt, to think about what we might have missed. It is too sad, too scary, sometimes too incomprehensible, and sometimes too close to what we are feeling ourselves. We can feel sad, abandoned, powerless.

We are not powerless. A way we can honor those we have lost to suicide is by learning how to help anyone else from feeling alone and hopeless. We can decrease the number of suicides by learning more about how they hap-

pen, what to listen for, and what to do. Anyone can be trained to become a suicide alert helper. Learning how to intervene in and possibly prevent suicide is possible, and it is not as hard as you might think.

I invite you to allow yourself to overcome your personal fears about suicide, the ones that we all seem to have. I encourage you to move through your fears about talking, or thinking, or feeling about it, and to take an online, free to you, private 60 to 90-minute class on suicide alertness in the privacy of your own home. You can take it with family or friends, all of you together, sharing your ideas and answers, which both makes it easier to do and increases the chances that you will use it.

If you have teens or pre-teens, this is an invaluable opportunity to talk with them about suicide, which has reached terrifying numbers among youth nine to 21 in the last decade. Families that talk about suicide and its prevention are less likely to have to deal with its aftermath.

Rela x & Rejuvenate! Enjoy the Benefits of Massage

You will learn that people who are struggling usually let us know, somehow. It may not be what you expect. They almost certainly will not volunteer “I’m thinking of killing myself.” They might say or start doing something that just does not sit right, does not feel like them, makes very slight alarm bells go off somewhere in the back of your head. In the Living Works Start class you learn how to recognize many of the signals that a suicidal person might be sending, and how to respond.

Being a “Suicide Alert Helper” does not mean you have to dive deeply into the issues. It means you learn how to ask if someone is in danger of killing themselves, how to listen for enough time for the person to feel heard and “seen,” and how to ask them if you can call someone for help. It is simple, once you learn about it, and practice it a few times.

It is simple, but I am not going to pretend to you that this is easy. However, every time I work with someone

Are you upset by people dying by suicide?

You have the power to be part of the change

Berta-Thompson

Species of Concern cared for at Greenwood

By Kaitlyn Fletcher Redstone Review

LONGMONT – Over 140 different species came to Greenwood for care in 2022. Some are widespread in our urbanized environment, while others struggle to adapt to available habitats. As a wildlife rehabilitation center, Greenwood is an essential resource for many Colorado species, including those of concern.

Fifty years ago, the Endangered Species Act was signed into law to create a framework to protect wildlife and their habitats. Now, it is one of the most powerful legal tools for conservation. The ultimate goal of this law is to prevent the extinction of imperiled animals and plants through domestic and international regulations. For this milestone, we want to raise awareness about the most vulnerable wildlife in Colorado.

Colorado’s species of greatest conservation need Colorado’s Wildlife Action Plan creates two tiers for species, reflecting their degree of conservation need. This report outlines vulnerable animals and their habitats in order to address threats and stay proactive in conservation actions. The species listed below are a part of the state’s most recent action plan that were cared for at our facility in 2022.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus

Their slim bodies and stealthy behaviors allow the Yellow-billed Cuckoo to hide within deciduous woodlands. This cuckoo is one of few species able to eat hairy caterpillars, sometimes gorging themselves on as many as 100 per meal. They also enjoy other giant insects, such as cicadas. Females lay a single egg, waiting up to five days before the next. This asynchronous system spreads out nourishment requirements. When food is abundant, the cuckoos allow other bird parents to raise their young, evolving the ability to lay eggs that mimic other species, like the American Robin.

These birds are federally listed as threatened in the Southwest region, including Colorado. Much of their habitat along wooded river banks has been cleared for farming and housing.

Abert’s Squirrel, Sciurus aberti

Identifiable by their black color and large ear tufts, Abert’s Squirrels live in the mature ponderosa forests of Colorado. This species is considered an indicator for the

health of the ecosystem, which means it reflects the current environmental condition of the area. Abert’s show the density of interlocking pine canopies due to their reliance on their cones, needles, and buds. As the only squirrel that does not cache winter snacks, the critters are active year-round, depending on the ponderosa’s sap in the coldest winter months. Their declining population trend parallels the decrease in old-growth forests.

American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

American White Pelicans are majestic in the skies, soaring gracefully in V-formation. This seabird is one of the largest in North America, with its broad wings, large heads, and heavy bills. Pelicans use these hefty bills to herd and catch fish with their flock. Up to 150 pounds of fish is required to nourish a single baby pelican to adulthood. A yellow vertical prehistoric plate develops on the tip of their bills, indicating they are ready to breed. This sensitive species depends on shallow wetland habitats and is known to abandon nests due to human disturbances.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys ludovicianus

Residing in the Colorado foothills and eastern plains, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs burrow underground, creating elaborate tunnels and specialized rooms. As highly social creatures, their communication is sophisticated, from warning calls to daily chats. Unfortunately, prairie dogs have lost up to 95 percent of their population. Disease and habitat fragmentation are their biggest threats. This species provides many environmental benefits with their digs, including soil fertilization, which improve biodiversity. Additionally, the endangered Black-footed Ferret depends on these critters as a primary food source.

Cassin’s Finch, Haemorhous cassinii

Cassin’s Finch is the largest of the three North American finches. The Colorado mountains and conifer forests are a permanent home to this rose-crowned finch. Their unique headdress coloration comes from foraging seeds from bright berries. In 2022, only two Cassin’s Finch needed Greenwood’s help, while we saw 300 of their cousins, the House Finch. Seeds and salty snacks are some of their favorite meals. Additional studies are needed to understand the cause of their current decline.

Lazuli Bunting, Passerina amoena

Male Lazuli Buntings light up their arid woodland habitats with their gem-blue heads and stained orange chests. Deservingly so, their Latin name means “beautiful sparrow.” Colorado is their summer breeding ground, where they mate in mostly monogamous couples. The males are territorial once paired. The females are strikingly soft in color compared to their counterparts, often seen balancing

who is suicidal, first I feel a slight sense of dread: can I do this? Can I listen again? What if I fail and they die anyway? But then when I am actually asking the question, I can feel my system get energized from adrenaline. Is it fear? Is it excitement? Is it determination? I do not know,

I just know it is good because I use that energy to stay with the person, to listen and open my heart. It gives me the motivation to stick with them through to getting them help that they need.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15 to 44 in Colorado. The numbers keep increasing. Data shows that suicide prevention trainings work. The more awareness there is about suicide and why and how people think about killing themselves, the more that people can respond and the more suicides that are prevented.

I can tell you from experience, it feels great to know you helped to save a life. Not in a “I’m so special, I’m such a hero” kind of way, but because it is inspiring to watch the courage of someone as they decide to live. It is touching when they decide to tell me the truth, to talk to 988 when I call, and to continue to face the messy, painful, uncertainty that life is.

This is personal for me, and it may be for you, too. I started being actively suicidal when I was twelve. I have lived with what is called “suicidal ideation” in all the years since. I have had times when I had to beg people to stay with me, so I did not use a surefire way to die. I have been saved from suicide by strange interventions, by love, and by sheer willpower. I have discovered that learning how to talk about suicide with others, and to help them to

on small branches for seedy nibbles. Their decline placed this bunting on the state’s conservation priorities.

Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum

Grasshopper Sparrow are light-colored birds with minimal markings aside from their neutral-speckled top feathers. This sparrow spends most of the time on the ground when not chasing insects, camouflaged by dense grasslands. True to their name, Grasshopper Sparrows’ food of choice is grasshoppers. Their quiet song even mimics the vibrations of the insect’s legs. Domed nests are hidden among grass clumps. Unfortunately, their populations are in steep decline due to loss, fragmentation, and degradation of their habitats. Grassland birds are among conservationists’ most significant concern.

Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperi

Usually found perched in a tree awaiting their insect prey, the Olive-sided Flycatcher nests in rugged coniferous forests. Dead and burned tree branches are the perfect lookout for their next meal in the skies. This barrelchested bird wears a vest of grey feathers, and its olive tones shine under direct sunlight. Despite their adaptation to burned areas, winter habitat loss is likely impacting their numbers.

Greenwood’s mission is to rehabilitate and release orphaned, injured, and sick wildlife and educate the community on humane wildlife solutions. We hope to positively impact these sensitive species and contribute to their continued conservation.

Kaitlyn Fletcher is the Communications and Content Associate at Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, located on Hwy 66 between Lyons and Longmont.

work through that unbearable pain and despair, has helped me to be less at the mercy of my own impulses.

You may think that you are not brave enough, or do not know anyone who might die by suicide, or that it is too scary, too painful, too “something” for you. But none of that is true. You are brave enough. You do, right now, know someone who is struggling with suicidal ideas, you just do not know it. I wish it was not true, but I guarantee you, it is.

Wide Spaces Community Initiative through the Lyons Community Library has 40 free to you, online classes about suicide prevention called Living Works Start. They were paid for by the Town of Lyons Goodwill Fund. Just email us at widespacescommunity@gmail.com and we can send you the link to take the class or leave a message for me at the Library Front Desk. Doing the class with a friend, neighbor, or family members is a great way to make it less scary, and also gives you a chance to talk about the things you are learning.

I would love to see Lyons not have another suicide, wouldn’t you? Together, we can work on making Lyons a suicide alert town.

The Wide Spaces Community Initiative is a program of the Lyons Community Library and is supported financially by grants from the Lyons Community Foundation, the Town of Lyons Goodwill Fund, and the Community Foundation of Boulder County. Pride Month events are supported by donations from local individuals, Out Boulder County, Rise against Suicide Boulder County, and OASOS Boulder County, with in-kind support from The Lyons Community Church.

Janaki Jane has been a Lyons area resident since 2004 and writes on issues of society and mental health. She is the Director of the Wide Spaces Community Initiative, a program of the Lyons Community Library. The Initiative’s vision is “A Community of Belonging and Personal Safety for Everyone.” She leads community groups, teaches suicide prevention, and can be reached at widespacescommunity@gmail.com.

BLACK TAILED PRAIRIE DOG

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER

A piece of Colorado Capitol history is for sale on eBay for $9,000. State officials want it back

By Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun Redstone Review

LYONS – Sage Naumann, a former staffer at the Colorado legislature, was conducting his occasional nerd search of state relics on eBay when a pricey item caught his eye: “Original Bronze Wall Sconce from the Colorado State Capitol Bldg. in Denver.”

The list price of the enormous artifact? Available from a Littleton seller for the cool price of $8,995, or $431.82 a month over 24 months with PayPal credit. Local pickup only.

“Own a piece of Colorado history,” the listing says.

Naumann posted about his discovery on social media, prompting a short blurb on a political news website. That tipped off the legislature’s Capitol Building Advisory Committee, responsible for maintaining the historic integrity of all things Colorado Capitol. The panel quickly determined it wants the sconce – a decorative light fixture – back. Like, yesterday.

“This is clearly state property and it is the responsibility of the Capitol Building Advisory Committee to keep state property in the Capitol,” Jeanette Chapman, a nonpartisan staffer for the committee, said during a hearing.

The panel is debating how to retrieve the fixture. Ideas on the table include purchasing the sconce (it’s unclear where the money would come from), sending the Colorado State Patrol to seize the item (that’s been done with other Capitol relics), or asking the seller to donate the large and expensive light fixture back to the state, perhaps as a tax write off. The panel also is trying to determine if the sconce was stolen or procured legally.

“It’s really hard to ascertain what’s stolen property and what’s not,” said Kurt Morrison, who sits on the committee and works as a lobbyist for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “For all we know, in the 1940s the legislature could have upgraded all their lighting and they put those up for sale and someone legally bought that.”

Morrison said if the sconce was illegally acquired, the eBay listing is likely to be pulled down by the seller quickly, never to be found again, once they learn the state wants it back. One committee member half-jokingly suggested the panel reach out to eBay’s lobbyist for help.

Rep. William Lindstedt, a Broomfield Democrat who sits on the committee, reminded the panel that items posted for sale on eBay are sometimes offered for only a limited time. “It could just disappear tomorrow,” he said. “Just something to consider.”

The eBay listing has prompted a larger discussion about how to get missing Capitol relics back when they are dis-

covered. The Capitol Building Advisory Committee openly debated pursuing legislation that would make it easier to reclaim historic items.

This isn’t, after all, the first time that a valuable object from the Capitol, which opened in 1894, has turned up for sale.

tee. “I don’t have a definitive answer.”

Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, a Commerce City Democrat who sits on the Capitol Building Advisory Committee, believes the state’s legal footing depends on when the sconce was made.

“The provision of statute that I think is most applicable here is around whether this sconce is original,” he said during last week’s committee hearing. “The statute is pretty clear that furniture original to the state Capitol building shall remain in the state Capitol at all times.”

Legislative staffers believe the gas-and-electric sconce, which has glass shades etched with the state seal, was once displayed in the governor’s office. Former state Sen. Lois Court, a Denver Democrat who chairs the building advisory committee, said that “heightens the conversation” around its importance.

The seller wrote on their eBay listing that they believe the sconce was removed during Capitol restoration in the 1950s. “Some of the original fittings were removed and discarded,” the listing says. “This is one of those original fixtures.”

The seller posted that the sconce has “shuffled around for about the last 70 years or so.” They estimate the fixture, which is three feet tall and two feet wide, is 125 years old.

“The condition of this sconce is actually superb.” the listing says.

There’s reason to believe the seller, who has sold 242 items on eBay and has 100 percent positive feedback, knows what they’re talking about. They have other lighting items posted for sale, though the Capitol sconce is by far the most expensive.

The seller also doesn’t seem afraid to reveal their identity, as several of the eBay listing images feature a man who appears to be holding up the sconce so it can be properly photographed.

An eBay message from The Colorado Sun to the seller was not returned. The Capitol Building Advisory Committee was also planning to reach out through eBay to the person or people who posted the sconce.

Naumann, the Capitol history buff, originally found the sconce listing on eBay in early January. He said it’s unclear when the item was first offered for sale.

In 2004, a doorknob from the Capitol was listed on eBay. The knobs are valuable and tough to replace, so the Colorado State Patrol was sent to retrieve it.

A similar knob was sold on eBay earlier this month by a seller in Brule, Nebraska, who claimed “I am told this was acquired directly from the Colorado state Capitol when it was remodeled around 1952 to 1953.”

State officials may have some legal authority to retrieve Capitol history, but Nicole Myers, a lawyer with the Office of Legislative Legal Services, said the power isn’t absolute.

“We’ve looked into whether the General Assembly would have any recourse,” she told the advisory commit-

“Look, most of these items were discarded by the state during renovations decades ago,” Naumann said. “The only reason we rediscover them is when an entrepreneurial individual like this eBay seller decides to list it online. We shouldn’t make that a crime. If the state wants the sconce back, it should make an offer.”

Besides, he said, most people with a passion for antiques and history would likely love to help return items like the sconce back to the Capitol.

Editor’s Note: This story is reprinted in the Redstone Review as part of the AP Story Share program that many Colorado newspapers belong to, including the Redstone Review.

A sconce at the Colorado Capitol on February 28, 2023. An eBay seller from Littleton listed an original bronze wall sconce for sale from the state Capitol, dating to the 1890s. The relic is listed at nearly $9,000. Colorado’s Capitol Building Advisory Committee is trying to determine if the sconce was stolen or procured legally. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

Ginger Moon cookies

By Barbara Shark Redstone Review

LYONS – A favorite cookie around here is a recipe in the China Moon Cookbook by Barbara Tropp. She wrote recipes from her long gone restaurant in San Francisco and the cookie recipes by Amy Ho are stellar. Any one would do, but here is a much loved one, Ginger Moons. I make these in my Cuisinart, but you could use a mixer or do it by hand. My usual method of forming the cookies is different from the original recipe.

Cream together 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add one tablespoon of finely minced fresh ginger, one tablespoon powdered ginger, 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely minced, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in one cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Form the dough into two logs, about an inch-and-a half in diameter. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll the logs in turbinado or another coarse sugar. Wrap them up and chill about an hour. You can also freeze the logs for baking later. Defrost a bit in order to slice.

To bake, slice logs into 1/4 inch pieces and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment, an inch apart – they spread just a bit.

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on a rack.

For a special treat for a dear one, make Ginger Hearts. Form the dough into two flat disks and chill. Roll out thin, 1/8 inch, between sheets of parchment, then cut into the desired shapes – hearts, moons, flowers. Bake until firm and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

Barbara Shark is an artist and author of How I Learned to Cook, an Artist’s Life. She lives near Lyons, Colorado. For more recipes, read her blog - www.howilearnedtocookanartistslife.blog.

Sprouted mung bean salad with Thai dressing – fresh and nutty

By Catherine Metzger Redstone Review

SAN MIGUEL COUNTY – It’s an effort for all of us to come out of hibernation and shake off the long, snowy slumber and awaken our palates. A salad featuring nutty, sprouted homemade mung beans combined with some other succulent characters and a gingery Thai dressing fits the bill nicely. The idea of sprouts when spring is springing just appeals to the cycle of the returning vigor of life.

To sprout mung beans: Take a two-cup Mason jar and add 1/4 cup of dried mung beans that you have rinsed thoroughly, and cover them with water and soak them overnight on the countertop. The next day, rinse the beans again with cold water and cover them with fresh water and soak overnight, being careful not to expose

the beans to light.

On the third day, remove all the water from the jar and tie a piece of fabric or cheese cloth onto the lid of the jar and invert it onto a dish to catch any excess moisture. Leave this until day four, when you should notice that the mung beans are sprouting. (If your beans aren’t sprouting by now, they should be disposed of.)

On day four carefully rinse the mung beans and store them covered in the refrigerator. They should last a couple of days. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly with cold water and drain them before using. Some people like to parboil them for a minute before using. Others use them raw.

Sprouted mung bean salad with Thai dressing Serves four, preparation time is just minutes.

1 C sprouted mung beans

2 T sweet or purple onion, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

1/2 avocado, cubed

1 medium carrot, grated

1/3 cucumber, partially peeled, seeded and diced

1/4 C roasted peanuts

1 t chopped cilantro (optional)

Dressing

1 t soy sauce

1 t rice vinegar

1 t sugar or 1/2 tsp stevia or monk fruit

sweetener

1/2 t chili paste

1 T lime juice

1 T sesame oil

1 t grated ginger

1/2 small clove of garlic, minced

• Prepare all the salad ingredients and place them in a roomy salad bowl.

• Place all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

• Just before serving, combine everything and toss gently.

Catherine Ripley Metzger has been cooking professionally and privately since 1979. She was a French cuisine journeyman at the celebrated Henri d’Afrique restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Today she is the proprietor of the food blog www.foodfortheages.com and cooks with curiosity from the ground up in her log cabin home on the Western Slope of Colorado.

cause Sojourner Truth was born in New York and grew up speaking Dutch, it is impossible that she would have spoken in the Southern slave dialect of that period attributed to her by Gage, and even more strangely, the famous Ain’t I a Woman? title and repeated refrain of the speech never actually appears once in the original, transcribed version. Podell believed it was important to shed light on the two versions of Sojourner Truth’s famous speech in order to preserve her legacy and to honor who she really was. She writes, “The more we examine her life with all its complexities, the more we understand our nation’s history.”

Another monument to Sojourner Truth went up last year in New York, at the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in Ulster County. This bronze statue, designed by sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, was also erected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. On the governor.ny.gov website, Bagwell speaks in a video about Sojourner Truth and the creation of the monument. She says that Truth was “intent on being free, on making sure that her children were free, and then she worked to help others to be free,” and that she worked with the “great notables of that time, trying make sure that America lived up to its creed” – a mighty and noble pursuit. Bagwell wanted to capture Truth’s iconic features such as the glasses and face. But also the statue depicts more than just the figure of the woman herself: Bagwell uses the skirt as a canvas on which to tell more stories, depicting episodes of Truth’s life, including her invitation to meet with Abraham Lincoln. Bagwell goes on to say that if you Google the women’s suffrage movement you will not immediately see images of Black women, and that it might

texts to locate a single piece of information, or complete simple forms,” and can be classified as “functionally illiterate.”

How to observe National March into Literacy Month

There are many things you can do to celebrate literacy this month. Here are some suggestions:

Pick up a journal and write

Good reading and writing skills go hand in hand. It’s a good idea to encourage children to begin writing as early as possible, and journaling is a great start. Improve your reading and writing by journaling your thoughts and feelings to become more articulate and adept at writing.

Read to your children

Start reading to your children from infancy. As they grow older, encourage them to be a part of the story, and when they start learning to read, you will have instilled a habit they won’t easily give up. Support your child’s early reading skills. Make an effort to keep reading a priority in your home by making it a family activity that is fun, engaging, and something you can do together. Helping your child learn to love reading is a wonderful gift.

appear that the movement was a White woman’s movement, which it was not. She says, “Black women were working, alongside – not with – but parallel, trying to achieve the same goal.”

Again, I never anticipated that I would think so much about statues. It was not on my bingo card for 2020 or 2021. But perhaps Bagwell’s sculpture is a more fitting tribute to Sojourner Truth than the statue of the three women in Central Park – a genuine tribute to this great woman who faced so many hardships on her own and forged a fearless, individual path with unerring humanity, dignity and perseverance.

It is astounding to me how resonant Sojourner Truth’s dedication to the ongoing fight for women’s equality – especially women of color – is today. I cannot think of a more appropriate heroine for our time, particularly at this moment when we are in the middle of Black History Month and about to begin Women’s History Month. Other monuments honoring Truth include a memorial in Florence, Massachusetts; a bust in the United States Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.; and a statue in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Sojourner Truth fought tirelessly for justice, dedicating her life to sharing her unwavering principles and pursuing equality for women, people of color, and for all people. She has earned her place among Smithsonian Magazine’s 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time, and she deserves every statue she gets.

Terry de Castro lives in Los Angeles where she teaches yoga and works for the PBS series and arts organization, Craft in America. She was a member of a British indie rock band called the Wedding Present and continues to stand in on occasion.

Literacy is a tool to navigate daily life. More than just for academic success, think about how easy your literacy makes it to use signs, labels, and even your phone.

Literacy enables social engagement. Being able to read and write means being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues that are shaping our world.

Digital literacy is important too. The European Literacy Policy Network defined literacy as “the ability to read and write ... in all media (print or electronic), including digital literacy.”

Literacy can correct gender inequality. Female illiteracy limits employment opportunities and worsens women’s positions in the household when it comes to decision-making and bargaining.

Play word games

Literacy should be fun. Whether on a computer screen or physically with game boards, make learning fun by introducing games that help your children enjoy learning.

Important Facts about Literacy

During literacy month, think about these facts that make literacy so important to everyone.

Literacy is critical for success in schooling. Students who can’t read proficiently by the third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school.

Take some time to celebrate the gift of literacy this month. Read the Redstone Review aloud to your children, your partner or just yourself. Enjoy.

For more information, visit the National March into Literacy Month website.

This monument to Sojourner Truth went up in 2020 in Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in Ulster County, New York.

Literacy Continued from Page 3

Colorado surpasses $14 billion in marijuana sales since legalization

By Shannon Gray, Colorado Dept. of Revenue Redstone Review

DENVER, CO – On March 9, the Colorado Department of Revenue released January 2023 marijuana sales figures and February 2023 marijuana tax and fee revenue figures.

The Marijuana Sales Reports summarize total sales made by medical and retail mari-

juana stores monthly by county. The Marijuana Tax Reports show state tax and fee revenue collected monthly as posted in the Colorado state accounting system. Tax revenue comes from the state sales tax (2.9%) on marijuana sold in stores, the state retail marijuana sales tax (15%) on retail marijuana sold in stores, and the state retail marijuana excise tax (15%) on wholesale sales/transfers of retail marijuana. Fee revenue comes from marijuana license and application fees.

that address would be changed to the name of the alley. This means that people would have to change their address with their utilities company, Amazon and UPS deliveries and other services, and the town staff will have to work with some services and utilities as well to explain the situation. An address change might affect property deed descriptions, etc.

“It’s going to be challenging,” said Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen.

In other news, the board held a public hearing on the second reading of Ordinance 1141 which concerns fees for the

installation/connection of fire sprinklers or fire suppression systems. The board decided to update the code so that fire sprinkler systems and other fire suppression systems would not require water taps and should not be charged a tap fee. This issue came up some of the new developments in town planned to have fire sprinkler systems installed. The proposed hotel, Spirit Hound Distillers, and Lyons Valley Town Homes multi-family buildings all plan to have sprinkler systems installed. The board voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 1141 to update the code so fire sprinkler systems and fire suppression systems would not require water taps.

Finally, Lyons purchases an annual community EcoPass program for all of its residents, which is a program offered by RTD. The EcoPass allows riders to take any RTD bus or light rail (for example from Boulder to Denver or to DIA) for free with a valid annual pass. The annual service level price fluctuates, but in 2023 the cost is a little over $10k. To offset the program cost, the town charges residents a small fee to have a pass: currently $40 for adults, $15 for seniors (65+) and $15 for youth under age 18.

If residents want to take the Lyons Flyer to Boulder, there is no fee and no pass needed. If residents want to take the AB (the RTD airport bus, say from Boulder to DIA), an EcoPass is required to ride for free or passengers may pay the trip fare.

Parenting Seminar

LYONS – Lyons Elementary School PTO and the Lyons Middle/Senior Booster Club invite parents to attend a free parenting seminar to support the mental well-being of children in

Lyons. The seminar will be held Wednesday, March 15 at Lyons Middle/Senior High School.

To learn more, visit the Lyons Elementary School PTO info. Register online for this free seminar.

2022 Annual Report and 2023 fiscal year budget

LYONS – This report provides a comprehensive overview of the various commissions, board and staff work for the past year. It contains reports from Town departments, boards and commissions, affiliated districts and other Lyons area organizations, covering the period of January 1 to December 31, 2022, as well as the budget for fiscal year 2023. To view it online, visit www.townoflyons.com/annualreport.

When mountain lions meet people: A message from Colorado Parks and Wildlife

LYONS – Mountain lions are generally quiet and elusive. They tend to live in remote, primitive country with plentiful deer and adequate cover. Such conditions exist in mountain subdivisions, urban fringes, and open spaces.

Local, family-owned, and proudly serving the Boulder & Lyons area since 1983

siddallteam@gmail.com• www.gateway-realty.com

Much of Colorado, including the Front Range, is prime mountain lion country. This simple fact is a surprise to many residents and visitors. There’s been a recent increase in mountain lion sightings in areas of Boulder and Larimer Counties. Some reports also include deer that have been cached by lions. If you live/recreate in lion country, please remember its your responsibility to take necessary precautions to coexist with these creatures:

• Avoid times lions are most active, around dusk and dawn.

• Never leave pets unattended and keep on leash at all times.

• Do not attract wildlife by feeding animals, such as deer. It’s not only illegal, but also attracts their natural predators. Predators follow prey.

• Make sure areas where you come and go are well lit.

Learn more about living near Mountain Lions on the CPW website.

Bear resistant trash bins coming soon LYONS – Spring is right around the corner and bears will be coming out of hibernation soon.

In partnership with Boulder County Parks & Open Space, Lyons is one of the beneficiar-

ies of a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Grant. Our shared goals are to broaden our communities’ efforts to reduce conflicts, update human habits, and test out solutions that are working in other communities.

What does this mean for you as a resident of Lyons? Certain homeowners in areas of Lyons may be eligible for a bear-resistant trash can at a significantly reduced price. More information and an online order form will be ready next week, with local pickup scheduled for late April. For more information, contact the Town of Lyons at 303-823-6622.

Winter Wonderland Concert

LYONS – Town staff is working with our talented local musicians to host a short series of Winter/Spring Wonderland Concerts for the community. The next concert is with Ian Brighton on Saturday, March 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bohn Park.

Please note the change of venue. The concert will be in the sun at Bohn Park and there will be hot drinks and baked goods along with live music and outdoor festivities for the whole family. For more information, contact the Town of Lyons at 303-823-6622.

BEAUTIFUL 2-STORY HOME FRESH OFF A COMPLETE RENOVATION WITH FRESH PAINT, PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPING, NEW HARDWOOD FLOORING, NEW CARPETING, NEW REFRIGERATOR AND DISHWASHER, NEW FURNACE AND WATER HEATER. 6 BEDROOMS + STUDY = A SPACE FOR EVERYTHING! Spacious master suite with spectacular views of Steamboat Mountain and surrounding hills! Professionally finished daylight basement including 2 bedrooms, full bath, rec. room with fireplace, bath, exercise room, and storage/mechanical room. Superb location in desirable Lyons Valley Park close to school, park, river, and trails! No HOA! This one is a gem! 104 Estes Court, Lyons / $1,145,000

RARE, UNIQUE LIVE/WORK OPPORTUNITY PERFECT FOR RETAIL, CLINICAL, OR OFFICE BUSINESS! Located in beautiful downtown Lyons, this was the original livery built by Mr. Lyon in the 1880s. The 2-level apartment features a remodeled kitchen, bath & laundry and private outdoor living space. Beautiful garden studio is fenced for privacy and offers a covered patio & garden shed for outdoor enjoyment. Several rooms for retail/office or personal use. 1 off-street parking space. Zoned commercial downtown. Exceptional property! 418 High Street, Lyons / $775,000

Get a Pot of Gold in Your Real Estate Investment this St. Patrick’s Day!

SALE PENDING

newer roof and newer A/C. LISTED BY MB TEAM LASSEN

4 49 Morgan Road, Longmont / $423,000

Are you ready to make a lucky leap in the real estate market? With the St. Patrick’s Day spirit in the air, it’s the perfect time to start your search for the perfect property. Whether you’re in the market for a cozy cottage or a spacious home, our experienced real estate agents are here to help you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Take advantage of the current market conditions and find a great deal on a property that meets your needs and fits your budget. With our vast network and expertise, we can help you navigate the complex real estate process and find the home of your dreams.

So don’t let this St. Patrick’s Day pass you by without taking the next step in your real estate journey. Contact us today and let us help you make the right investment for your future.

Wishing you a happy and lucky St. Patrick’s Day from Gateway Realty Group!

Dan Siddall broker/owner Colleen Dickes associate broker Ian Phillips associate broker Dot Fears associate broker

Canada geese out for a stroll on a frozen pond at Pella Cossing.

PHOTO BY SUSAN MCCANN

Town Continued from Page 1