Redstone October / November 2022

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Redstone stands with President Zelensky and the people in Ukraine

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Spooktacular Halloween Parade

LYONS – Saturday, October 29 Town staff is working to plan a fun, outdoor family-friendly Lyons Spooktacular Parade and events. The events will take place at 4 p.m. at the Lyons Elementary School, with the parade along Main Street beginning at 6 p.m. The Chili Cook-off returns for 2022 in a new location, at Main Stage Brewing at 4:30 pm.

November 2022 General Election information

LYONS – This fall’s November 8 General Election will feature fed eral, state, and local level content. Here are some key details and dates to get you ready to vote in this year:

Voting: All active, registered voters will automatically be mailed a ballot beginning Octo ber 17. Vote Centers will also op erate for those who need or want to vote in person, to vote using accessible voting equipment, to get a replacement ballot, or to register or update their voter reg istration in person. Vote Centers and Ballot-to-Go service starts October 24. Find locations at www.BoulderCountyVotes.org

Voter Registration: If you are not sure if you are registered or have moved in the last year, check your voter registration at www.GoVoteColorado.gov. Col orado does not have a registration deadline (you can register and vote on the same day), but early registration is encouraged in order to send your mail ballot in a timely fashion. October 31 is the last day the elections office can mail you a ballot.

Know Your Voting Rights: Please see our website or contact us if you have any doubt about your ability to register or vote. We are here to help and support you. Additionally, language assistance is available in multiple languages, and we have a Spanish-language section on our website.

Ballot Content: Do your re search early and be ready to vote. Content found at www.Boulder CountyVotes.org.

Election Security: Colorado is often held up as one of the best election models in the country due to how we balance voter ac cessibility with strong security protocols. To learn more, see our Election Security Community Briefing at www.BoCo.org/Elec tionSecurityReport.

Town Board looks at fire mitigation, annexation, increasing density

By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review Editor

LYONS – The Lyons Town Board of Trustees had a lengthy discussion on fire mitigation and various projects that the board is engaged in as well as plans for the future at a recent town board meeting.

Zack Bertges, the new code enforcement officer in Lyons, was the presenter for the dis cussion. He gave a report on the success of the new program the town tried out this year with the hiring two companies that use goats to chew up the noxious weeds, unwanted veg etation, shrubs, etc. that can create fire dan ger in areas around town. Bertges said that the goats ate a lot of vegetation that would otherwise be considered fuels for fire.

Two companies were hired, Goat Mowers and Fire House Farm. Bertges said that the goats were around for about six days and ate all kinds of weeds and vegetation, eating through about 1 acre per day. Bertges said that the goats ate through cheat grass, some rabbit brush and mountain mahogany along with a wide variety of other plants. They did not like the myrtle spurge or knapweed. These plants are somewhat toxic to most animals.

Nor did the goats like real hot weather. The goats were in town in July and there were a lot of days over 90 degrees. That’s when the goats like to go to shady areas and slow way down on eating. Bertges said that the goats do best in the spring, April is the best time to use the goats. He said that it would be a good idea to use the goats once a year on the buyout properties and in September or October do a limb/shrub/vegetation pickup.

The goats were monitored and their pens were moved around as they ate through the vegetation. Goat Mowers provided 36 goats and their goats were larger than Fire House Farm goats. Dave Miller, a volunteer, kept the

goats moving by shifting their pens around.

Bertges said he has been spending time es tablishing relationships with Boulder County. He said that the county is going to hire some new consultants and they plan to develop a new weed code. He added that the Wildfire Partnership is here to assist property owners. He told the board that the real concern for fire danger is not so much in the town of Lyons but rather in the surrounding areas, the areas that interface with Lyons. He said he is spending a lot of time trying to educate property owners on fire mitigation.

Former trustee Mark Browning spoke to the board about a letter he and five former trustees wrote to the board expressing con cern about the fire danger around the Martin property which borders Bohn Park in the south east part of town. It is a 10-acre parcel owned by the town of Lyons, but still in Boulder County.

Browning told the board, during audi ence business, that the 2021 board ap proved $125,000 for fire mitigation and that the Martin parcel was part of that ap proved allocation because it was designated a high fire risk area. He said that the former board had asked the staff to work on annex ing the Martin property and that the board’s requests were ignored. He said that they did receive excuses/reasons for the delays from staff.

Browning added that he has walked the property and there are fallen trees, broken branches hanging off trees, wooden pallets lying around and other debris that would con stitute a fire danger.

Mayor Hollie Rogin addressed former Trustee Browning’s issues in a statement on Page 3 of this issue of the Redstone Review

The board did discuss the annexation of the Martin property, and Mayor Rogin and the board said that it needs to go to the Plan

ning and Community Development Commis sion (PCDC). She said, “It is on their long list. We are going to get a new evaluation of the town as a whole for fire mitigation prior ities from the Lyons Fire Protection District wildland fire mitigation professionals.”

In other news, the board decided to move discussion of Ordinance 1133 to November 7. This ordinance would amend the munici pal code by adopting the International Build ing Code, the International Residential Code, and various other international codes that are associated with building plumbing, maintenance, etc. The board moved the vote to a later date in order to get more input from boards and commissions, and more data from neighboring municipalities.

The board also discussed youth mental health issues in the schools. The mental health discussion resulted in direction to staff to see about Lyons Emergency and Assis tance Fund (LEAF) providing a drop-in space for all youth after school, perhaps at the library. Staff will also create a resource guide for parents and students regarding mental health assistance.

To accommodate affordable housing the board was unanimously in favor of directing the PCDC to explore the possibility of in creasing the housing density in Old Town Lyons and along with that to update the design guidelines for structures in town.

Lyons is in line for some beautification projects. The Dr. Scholl Foundation gave Lyons $25,000 for beautification projects and is now giving Lyons $50,000 more, Town Ad ministrator Victoria Simonsen told the board.

Administrator Simonsen told the board that Martin Marietta asked for a Special Use Review: the Boulder County Board of Adjust ments denied Martin Marietta’s request for overturning the special use review that was denied by Planning Director Case.

The Salazar family from Longmont visited the Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch for a beautiful sunny day of pumpkin picking. And the kids were happy to take a break to pose for this picture.

PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

OBITUARY

Zoe Claire Chase, age 19, of Lyons, passed away on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Zoe Chase was born January 18, 2003 in Boulder and lived in Lyons since birth. She graduated from Lyons High School in 2021 and was currently a sophomore at Texas Christian University (TCU) studying psychology, and she worked at the library.

During high school Zoe Chase worked at the Pizza Bar in Lyons and with her mom at Boulder Property Manage ment during her summers.

She enjoyed dancing, horses and animals, thrifting, reading, cooking vegetables and soup and spending time with friends and family. She was involved with the Col lege Diabetes Network-Alpha Delta Pi and their philan-

Letter to the Town of Lyons Board of Trustees, October 3, 2022

Re: Fire risk mitigation: Martin parcel and curbside pickup Dear Trustees:

The undersigned, all elected to the prior Board of Trustees, wish to call the current Board’s attention to matters relating to fire risk mitigation items given high priority in the 2022 budget:

1. Martin parcel – The 8-acre Martin parcel adjoining Bohn Park on the south west edge of Town limits was acquired from Boulder County. It was identified by the fire risk mitigation task force as a prime tar get for mitigation efforts. To that end, the 2022 BOT greatly increased initial budget amounts proposed by Town staff and di rected such funds (split $75,000 in the General Fund/$50,000 in the Parks Fund) be used to undertake fire risk mitigation ef forts, including the Martin parcel. The Board also directed Staff to prepare and bring to the BOT documentation to annex the Martin parcel into Town limits, giving the Town full control over the property.

2. Curbside limb pickup – The 2022 budget line item 01-55-4708, “Fall/Spring

Curbside Pickup” specifically called for “two events” of curbside pickup, a part of fire risk mitigation also identified by the task force as a priority.

To the best of our knowledge, no fire risk mitigation efforts have been under

Dear Editor,

thropy Ronald McDonald House, and Beto for Texas.

She was preceded in death by her grandfather Charles Aron and uncle James Aron.

Zoe is survived by her father David Chase, stepmother Jimi Alida, her mother Mary Aron Brett, and stepfather Matthew Brett; her brothers David Brett, Finn Klopson and Leif Klopson, and her sisters Marley Chase, Julia Brett, Rachel Brett and Rivers Klopson. Her grandpar ents Don (Gerry) Chase and Nancy Aron also survive her, as well as aunt and uncle Joe Aron and Sara Black wood, uncle Doug Chase and aunt Allison Stoner.

A visitation for Zoe was held on October 10, at 2 p.m. followed at 3 p.m. with a celebration of her life at River Bend, 501 W Main St, Lyons. A private burial was held at Lyons Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Barbara Davis Center via Children Diabetes Foundation or the Zoe Chase Memorial Fund for Behavioral Health. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to share condolences.

an important message to Lyons citizens: “The Town of Lyons puts a high priority on fire risk mitigation and is acting to address it. You should, too.” Having two curbside events, not just one, also sends citizens a highly-visible message that the Town is acting on task force recommenda tions. By contrast, further delays in miti gating the Martin parcel and not conducting the budgeted-for second curb side pickup sends the opposite message.

taken on the Martin parcel, which contin ues to house multiple piles of dead, dry wood under trees (perfect “pyre” forma tions), discarded construction pallets and other trash, and high vegetation including several varieties of noxious weeds. Pictures taken in September 2022 are attached.

Further, contrary to Board direction to Staff, the Martin parcel has not been annexed.

Further, so far as we are aware, as of early October, no second curbside collection event has been scheduled.

Excuses were offered during our term for failing to promptly proceed with Martin parcel fire risk mitigation: “Fire District isn’t ready” and “access issues.” Such ex cuses do not justify continued inaction. If the Fire District is not yet ready to supervise fire risk mitigation, then Boulder

County, State or private sector experts should be engaged to complete the task. There is adequate access to the Martin parcel for personnel and equipment, in cluding direct access from Bohn Park and confirmed County right of way access from the northern end of CR 69.

We were pleased to see “Reduce Risk of Wildfire” listed among top goals on the 9/21/22 BOT agenda. We agree it deserves high priority, which is why we boosted the 2022 budget in that area well above initial Staff proposals. We were advised by the task force that Lyons’ primary fire risk is from prevailing westerly downslope winds, and the Martin parcel sits on Lyons’ south west edge at the base of surrounding hills. While mitigating that parcel alone will not achieve all or even most of Lyons’ fire risk mitigation needs, doing so will convey

The summer of 2022 afforded the Town a welcome reprieve from the “close misses” of fire and smoke events that oc curred in previous summers. This summer and fall were and are an opportunity to take advantage of the reprieve to accom plish at least short-term fire mitigation tasks, if not also longer-term efforts such as a Wildland-Urban Interface Code (which Lyons still does not have). The time for talk and excuses is at an end. It is time for action

Accordingly, the undersigned (i) urge Town Staff to do its duty to carry out BOT direction to get the Martin parcel annexed and do fire risk mitigation on it, (ii) urge that a second curbside limb collection be done this fall, and (iii) respectfully request the current Board of Trustees to vigilantly monitor Town staff's actions to accomplish these objectives.

Sincerely, Nicholas Angelo, Mark Browning Michael Karavas, Wendy Miller Greg Lowell, Kenyon Waugh

A comment on Mr. Robinson’s August 17 article about Cemex where he lists their contributions to our Lyons community. He announces a long list of trees, rocks, and volunteer time and even cash to various causes. Worthy, but, let me suggest that his boasting is a distraction, a greenwash to keep us from remembering the pollution they have brought to our community for 25 years. My opinion is that a company should be donating time and money to improve the lives of the people living there, but

Join our Facebook contest by 10/22/22 to be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Cottonwood Farms!

not to brag about it and try to cover up the destruction they continue to do. Cemex does not have our back. They continue to be a large polluter in Lyons and county in the air, and contributing to evermore congested road traffic. Sometimes silent and invisible they spread air pollution and deteriorate the quality in Lyons daily.

I want to thank the County Commissioners for voting down the quarry access renewal. Closing the quarry is a positive giant step toward. Thank you, it is the first step.

I’ve heard the integrity of some big companies can equated by the amount of their “generosity” with the amount of their guilt.

Life in Lyons without Cemex will be cleaner, safer, and more peaceful.

Sincerely, Kristine Smock, Lyons Resident

Editor’s note: Mr. Robinson refers to Walker Robinson, a spokesman for Cemex. The reference here to Mr. Robinson refers to a Public Relation piece by Walker Robinson, from Cemex, which ran in the August 2022 issue of the Redstone Review saying that Cemex was committed to Lyons with vol unteering and contributions.

Nourish your Life

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Photos of the Martin parcel, taken September 2022

LETTER • TO • THE • EDITOR

Zoe Claire Chase

January 18, 2003 – September 28, 2022

Addressing fire mitigation concerns

By Hollie Rogin, Mayor of Lyons Redstone Review

LYONS – The previous Board of Trustees has submitted concerns regarding fire mitigation efforts within Town limits. I appreciate the opportunity to address them.

Regarding the Martin parcel: While the previous fire mitigation task force identified this parcel as the highest priority, in May of this year, after the current board was seated, Wildland Fire Coordinator Emily Gubner submit ted new information that indicated it was not. The area had recently been mowed by town staff, and vegetation and nearby firebreaks to the east and an irrigated park and river to the west made it a lower priority than areas near Ewald Street, Horizon Drive, Longs Peak and Park Street, where more dense dwellings are located.

The Lyons Fire Protection District is currently hiring Wildland Coordinators, Wildland Staff, and Wildland Management personnel. Two new Wildland Coordinators will be conducting a new assessment of the Martin parcel this spring, based on recent activity in the area. Confluence buyout tree removal and fire mitigation activities are ongoing.

As you are probably aware, the town successfully miti gated two areas identified as high priority this fall. These town-owned properties were susceptible to wildfire activ ities and invasive weeds, and this effort was supported by the Lyons Fire Protection District. These properties are commonly known as the Stacy parcel and the Horizon Drive parcel. Our Parks and Public Works department con ducts ongoing mowing of other critical buyout parcels in the Summer, Fall, and (depending on conditions) Winter.

Regarding limb pickup and drop-off, $9,500 budgeted in the general fund for limb pick up events in 2022. Because the spring event was so successful, (thank you) it cost $7,500. There is a fall pickup event scheduled for the week of November 14, and assuming costs will be similar, the board will need to approve an additional $5,500 from the fire mitigation funding. Another limb drop-off event is scheduled for the weekend of November 5. Additional costs for that will likewise need to be approved by the board.

Moving forward, the town is collaborating with the Lyons Fire Protection District to further assess our parcels and to create town-wide evacuation plans and educational and preparedness campaigns. We are also discussing adop tion of the 2021 International Fire Code and standing by for state-level action on the Wildland-Urban Interface Code. Finally, with Federal and State funding opportuni ties to assist our efforts coming online, staff is researching and applying for grants so we can mitigate town-owned parcels and work with our county partners to leverage as much funding and activity as possible.

This public information is available online in the packet for the Monday, October 17 Board of Trustees meeting. As always, the Board of Trustees welcomes your questions and wants to hear your concerns. While the board has not regularly publicly discussed the shifting wildfire priorities during public meetings, we commit to doing so in the future. And in the future, I hope the pre vious Board of Trustees will feel comfortable contacting us directly to inquire about any issue of concern.

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 to 2022. In 2015, Rogin 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 Com mission and the Historic Preservation Commission.

Town Board updates goals, sets two ballot measures and more

By Hollie Rogin, Mayor of Lyons Redstone Review

LYONS When the current Board of Trustees was seated late last spring, we de cided to create a list of goals to tackle dur ing our two-year term. Many of them may take more than two years, but we wanted to be proactive in establishing a way to measure our progress as a board. Each of these goals has multiple tactics and activities assigned to them. You can view the full document at: http://townoflyons.com/BOT Goals. We welcome and encourage your feedback.

Our stated goals are:

Economic Vitality: Strengthen economic sustainabil ity, increase overall town revenue, buildout of Eastern Corridor, provide essential services locally, and consider additional parking options;

Wildfire Mitigation: Mitigation strategies, educational opportunities, emergency planning;

Improve Walkability: Improve safety, improve side walks, and improve trail connections;

Affordable Housing: Policy considerations, funding, other (including ADUs).

Other goals include optimizing Boards and Commis sions, making improvements to infrastructure, and ongo ing sustainability and renewable energy exploration and projects. As you can see, we have a full plate and are look-

ing forward to a busy and productive term.

Two ballot measures: The Town of Lyons has two measures on the ballot this November, so be sure to vote both the front and the back of your ballot.

Question 2G would change the lodging occupation tax. Currently, the town collects a flat fee of $2 per room or campsite. If approved by the voters, this measure would instead authorize the collection of 5 percent of the cost of each room or campsite, and this or future boards of Trustees could raise that amount to up to 8 percent. This change would go into effect for any reservations made after January 1, 2023, and the taxes collected would address visitor im pacts and help fund infrastructure improvement projects.

Question 2H proposes that arts and cultural facilities be an approved use in the Parks and Open Space zoning districts (such as Sandstone Park) and that non-profits be a conditional use. Conditional uses must go through the Planning and Community Development Commission, (PCDC) and Board review processes; approved uses do not require PCDC or board review. Currently, neither of these uses are permitted in Parks and Open Space zones.

Speed limit: Did you know that the speed limit within town limits is only 20 miles per hour? This excludes school zones (15 miles per hour) and federal highways such as Main Street, Broadway and Colorado Hwy. 7. The speed limit on Hwy. 36 between Lyons and the Apple Valley Bridge has recently been lowered to 40 miles per hour. The Colorado Department of Transportation sets the speed limits for highways.

Especially with school back in session, we all need to keep our speeds slow and our eyes open as we go about our busy days. Please watch for flashing crosswalk lights and stay alert for pedestrians and cyclists at signed crosswalks and intersections.

Now go forth and have a festive and happy Halloween.

It’s time now for Cemex to step up and become a responsible global citizen

By Ed Kean Redstone Review

LYONS – Cemex USA, a Global 2000 cement company, has lately been trying to shift from industrial capitalism to global corporate citizenry. For the fourth consecutive year, Cemex has been named Energy Star Partner of the Year, earning the Sustained Excellence Award from the EPA and DOE for their ongoing efforts in energy management and sustainability. Cemex announced recently they’re working with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to validate a 2050 net-zero CO2 roadmap and 2030 decarbonization goal of 1.5 degrees C. This is ambitious decar bonization in concert with sober science based guidance.

In the late 60s a cement plant and mine was built on the St. Vrain River at Lyons. The 60s and even the 90s were times when apparently only a very few worried about climate change on a daily basis. I was busy marching to Rocky Flats and didn’t consider the effects of Cemex’s burning trainloads of coal emitting 357,000 tons of CO2 each year, and the EPA’s findings of “significant” sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter which may explain my, and my son’s, “allergies.”

What is the spirit of open space? In the 1990s Cemex bought the plant and played-out mine and in the spirit of that time Boulder County helped them buy a bunch of land and gave them an extremely valuable non-conform ing special land use to dig up raw materials with the prom ise of a definite 25-year conversion to open space. At the time the Dowe Flats quarry was promoted as a good idea/devil’s bargain to avoid “urban sprawl.”

We all use concrete, part of which is cement. Cement is like milk, once it leaves the farm it’s hard to trace back to a specific cow. Over those 25 years much concrete has been poured including most of the building foundations and sidewalks in Lyons. None of that concrete came from Lyons but some of the cement may have. A few weeks ago

Joseph D. Meckle, D.C. Health Through Chiropractic

Rogin

Lyons: A popular tourist destination now and in the 1890s

By Monique Sawyer-Lang Redstone Review

LYONS – For many years in the late 1890s and early 1900s various organiza tions would travel by train to Lyons to have picnics in Meadow Park, now LaVern Johnson Park. The park was a quick train ride and a welcome respite from the hot and dusty summer days in Denver.

Its towering rock formations, abundance of shade trees, cooling waters of the North St. Vrain River, and amenities such as a band pavilion and baseball field made Lyons and Meadow Park in particular a popular summer destination.

Front page news in the September 3, 1903 issue of the Lyons Recorder newspaper included a copy of a letter from the Mayor of Lyons, which was sent to Mayor Robert R. Wright of Denver. The Mayor of Lyons denounced the Denver Mayor’s disparaging comments about the citizens of Lyons and how they felt about visitors to Meadow Park.

Lyons’ Mayor Bunce wrote, “Dear Sir. I wish you would publicly deny the statement, which appeared in the Den ver Times, of September 2, which said that the officials of Lyons had sent a report to the Mayor of Denver saying that the Denver picnickers who visited Lyons were in the habit of conducting themselves in a boisterous and objectionable manner and should be kept at home. The state

ment was also made that the Denver Street Sweepers were the best behaved crowd that has visited Lyons. I wish to state that the Contractors and Builders, Fraternal Unions, Swedish Lutheran, Denver Cadets, Grocers and numerous other organizations have visited Lyons this year and have conducted themselves in a perfectly creditable (sic) man ner, and the citizens of Lyons are always glad to have them visit our town. And I further wish to state that the Town Officials of Lyons have not sent any statement to the Mayor of Denver, or any other official in that city. J.H. Bunce, Mayor of Lyons.”

Remarkably, just the week before Bunce’s letter was pub

lished, in the August 27 edition of the Lyons Recorder the following was printed: “Lyons has gained quite a favorable name as a summer resort this year. It is only a question of time until it will be generally recognized all over the state.”

Was it jealousy or misinformation that prompted the Mayor of Denver to pen the letter to the Denver Times newspaper? Perhaps the Mayor was trying to convince people to stay and picnic in Denver instead of in Lyons. A search in the website of the Colorado Historic News papers Collection (coloradohistoricnewspapers.org) to find the Denver Mayor’s original letter to the Denver Times was unsuccessful so we don’t know what was said to prompt the response from the Lyons Mayor.

The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection is a ter rific source of information and is a free service of the Col orado State Library. The collection currently includes over 2.5 million digitized pages for more than 620 different news paper titles published in Colorado from 1859 thru 2021.

The Lyons Redstone Museum is closed for the winter and will reopen weekends in May of 2023. In the mean time 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 Red stone Museum and our efforts to preserve Lyons’ history, donations may be sent to P.O. Box 9, Lyons, CO, 80540.

Monique Sawyer Lang is the Collections Manager of the Lyons Redstone Museum. She is also a volunteer with the Lyons Food Pantry and a former member/chair of the Lyons Community Foundation Board. She lives in Spring Gulch.

Janice Marchman is running for new State Senate District 15

By Jim Ramsay Redstone Review

LYONS – Based on the population changes revealed in the 2020 census, State Senate District 15 has been expanded to include new parts of Larimer and Boulder counties, extending from where it ended in the Estes Park area south into Lyons, Nederland and the mountain communities west of Boulder and Broomfield.

This district is currently represented by Rob Woodward, a Republican from Ft. Lupton, who has held this office since he defeated Democrat Rebecca Cranston in 2018. This year a new Democratic candi date, Janice Marchman, a teacher from Loveland, is running against him. She’s still teaching: we had to schedule our in terview early in the morning so she could get to class on time.

Marchman grew up on Air Force bases around the country, graduated from Geor gia Tech and started a career in systems en gineering. She married her college sweetheart, and later the pressures of motherhood led her from systems engi neering to become a full-time mom.

The Marchmans moved to Colorado and, as the children grew older, Marchman decided to go back to work. But she turned to teaching rather than engineering be cause, “Instead of working with widgets, I actually get to work with kids,” she said.

Acutely aware of how community lead ership can affect what happens in the classroom, she served on the Thompson School

Board, backed local candidates and helped strengthen the local schools against out side-funded anti-public-school interests.

In 2010, the State of Colorado imple mented a budget stabilization factor. This BS factor proportionately reduces the amount of total funding for each school district, and as a result Colorado has fallen to 49th in the nation in per-pupil spending.

At the same time, Colorado is sixth in the nation when it comes to the state economy. “And so there’s obviously a dis crepancy there. Our economy is booming, and yet we’re 49th in the nation for how we’re funding our schools,” she said. She would like to address this discrepancy by serving in the State Senate.

Education is not the only issue she’d like to address. Health care is becoming in creasingly expensive for Coloradoans, and Marchman would like to see the state do more to cap the price of health care, lower the cost of prescription drugs and improve access to medical care by incentivizing the availability of health care in mountain communities and improving the reim bursement rate for Medicaid patients so that doctors can afford to treat them.

Housing costs have soared, and she would like to see more affordable housing in our communities to support the work

force we need for businesses to survive in towns like Lyons. Forest fires are another concern, and she recognizes the need to keep homeowners’ insurance available and affordable for those of us who live in com munities vulnerable to wildfires.

As insurance rates go up, rents go up. Colorado has a ban on rent control, “But something needs to be done to protect fixed-income and low-income families from having to lose their housing when rents go out of control,” she said.

Marchman added, “We’ve been under heavy conservative control for over a decade.” With the expansion of Senate District 15 to include the mountain com munities in Boulder and Larimer counties, Lyons-area residents have the opportunity to vote for a change in the Colorado State Senate in the upcoming election.

For more information about Janice Marchman, visit her website at www.jan iceforcolorado.com.

Jim Ramsay was raised in Iowa, Iran, Nigeria and Afghanistan. He studied English at CU in Boulder and taught English as a Sec ond Language in Tanzania, Botswana, the University of Illinois and the Economics In stitute at CU. An affinity for computers led him to technical writing, and he wrote manu als for tech companies up and down the Front

By Staff Reports

Redstone Review

The James Webb Telescope, now over 1 million miles from Earth is peering deep into the solar system to capture images of Neptune. The new images show seven of the planet’s 14 moons and the ice rings around the planet.

The pictures of Neptune, taken in July, provide the clearest and most detailed look at Neptune’s rings since NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by the planet in 1989, ac

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.

cording to the Associated Press.

Astronomers will be able to measure the reflectivity of the rings using Webb, and more research could provide insight into their size and composition, according to the New York Times

The images also show a bright line at the planet’s equator. It could be a sign of Neptune’s atmosphere circulating, powering its winds and storms, according to a statement from NASA. As the atmosphere warms at the equator, it emits more infrared light that Webb picks up as a glowing line.

Sawyer-Lang

A church group enjoying a visit to Meadow Park (now LaVern Johnson Park) around 1900.

Colorado State Senate District 15, shown here before (top) and after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

CANDIDATE JANICE MARCHMAN

Webb Telescope’s images of Neptune show its rings and moons

OPPORTUNITY

Old and new; thinking back on unexpected life companions

By Peter Butler Redstone Review

Butler

LYONS – We carry around a lot of stuff as we live our lives. But con sider how few intimate items we carry with us for the whole of our lives.

You may have a favorite piece of cloth ing such as a nice shirt or blouse, but it is not long before the collar is frayed and it goes to the rag bin. The same with jeans, underwear, hats and coats. They all come and go. If you imagine one of those speeded up films of your own body since you were a little kid up until today, it would be a shimmering fog of different col ors and styles flashing past but with your face and hands stationary.

But what else might be a constant in your self-video? The one thing that stays sharp while all the fabrics whirl past? Maybe a favorite piece of jewelry or a belt buckle. Anything else?

When I was a student, many of my friends were rock climbers. Their chosen occupation was dangerous, technical and scary for we regular folk. They didn’t have Yosemite, but they did disappear to Wales or Scotland for the weekend and come back with tales of epic cruxes (the hardest part of the crag) and the occasional neardeath experience. They had safety gear which was unfamiliar and exotic much of it without English names and referred to in the original French or German since

that was what all the early Alpinists spoke. Words like abseil, karabiner and belay were part of the vernacular.

Pitons were metal spikes hammered into the rock to provide an anchor for the lifeline that your partner would feed out as you were ascending. They are frowned upon now because of the damage that they do to the crag, but the erstwhile climbers of, say, the Matterhorn in Europe would use anything that gave them some extra speed. In the Alps, just like here in the Rockies, the next dangerous thunderstorm could be only moments away.

I nagged at my friend Chris to give me a particularly pretty little piton called a rurp, the abbreviation for the “Robbins Ultimate Reality Piton.” It was a flat metal L shape about an inch and a half on each side with a nice black patina straight from some spe cial blacksmith’s anvil. A hole in the side

made it a prefect and unusual key fob.

As the years went by, the surface of my little rurp became polished by keys and pockets. So many keys and so many pockets. That little rurp has a video of its own with a blur of keys from dozens of houses, apart ments, offices, cars, and post office boxes nestled in hundreds of pockets in dozens of trousers, shorts, sports gear, jackets and coats. All of them long gone and forgotten. Split rings too – they don’t last forever.

But that one little unexpected piece of metal has been my intimate companion through all those life periods. Everything else worn out and gone, even nice watches and fancy belt buckles. My wed ding ring would be a candidate but my knuckles are getting a bit lumpy to wear it all the time.

If you’re still with me you are probably as suming that your skin and bones are a con

Mountain lions are part of Lyons’ landscape

By Greg Lowell Redstone Review

LYONS – Talk long enough to anyone who has lived in the Lyons area and you’ll likely hear a mountain lion story. Stories like the mountain lion found in a barn or the fleeting glimpse in the headlights of a big cat carrying a deer or the lion casually lying in the grass of a neighborhood park.

Mountain lions, or cougars, have been a top predator along the Front Range for thousands of years. And while they are generally unseen and elusive, the spread of hu mans into their range doesn’t deter them from living their normal predatory life – it only increases the chances of mountain lion-human interaction and conflict.

Generally, such interaction is more casual than threat ening but there have been incidents where pets or domes tic animals are killed and, while unlikely, people have been attacked. While the chance of being attacked by a mountain lion in Colorado are much less than being struck by lightning or being caught in an avalanche, it does happen. Understanding that there are lions in our area and learning how to deal with them can eliminate the chance of an attack.

Here in the Lyons area we are surrounded by thousands of acres of lion-friendly open space, notably Heil Valley Ranch and Hall Ranch. An adult mountain lion generally requires a deer kill every 10 days – a predation rate that at first seems unsustainable until you begin to notice the numbers of deer in the surrounding protected areas. This writer once counted 93 individual mule deer on a January hike in Hall Ranch. Clearly, there are enough deer to sup port our local lions.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife department, which is responsible for the state’s wildlife, has no clear count on how many mountain lions there may be in Colorado but estimates that there may be anywhere from 4,500 to 5,500 lions. The difficulty in determining an exact number is be cause lions’ ranges vary in size from 10 to 370 square miles.

The first settlers arrived on the Front Range in the 1850s and began a systematic extermination of predators

they saw as a threat to their livestock. As recently as 1964, lions were considered a varmint and there was a $50 bounty paid by the state on them. Between 1917 and 1964, bounties were collected on 1,754 mountain lions in the state, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.

But beginning in 1965, mountain lions were recognized as a big game species and hunting seasons and annual quo tas were established. Records from 2005 to 2014 show hunters legally took from 238 to 482 lions each year. In game management Unit 20, which includes Lyons and the surrounding area, an average of four lions were taken annually over the same period.

A 10-year study done several years ago was headed by CPW wildlife researcher Mat Alldredge and had a goal to shed more light on mountain-lion human interaction along the Front Range.

“The principal objective of the study was to assess moun tain lion populations, their prey use, their movements and their interactions with humans,” said Alldredge. The study covers the area of the Front Range from Interstate 70 north to Lyons and south to Rte. 285. The study’s early findings pro vide some insights into the local mountain lions.

The study uses GPS collars on mountain lions to gather data. There were 11 lions being studied. The lions come from throughout the study area, but here locally from 2007 to 2015, 25 mountain lions were captured, collared and released (many multiple times) in the Lyons area. Nearly all the lions came from the Heil Valley Ranch and Hall Ranch open spaces. Of those 25 lions, 16 are now dead: three were road-killed,

stant through that time, even allowing for the odd sag or wrinkle here and there. But it is now known that the life span of most cells in your body is about seven years, which means that your body from 20 years ago is almost completely renewed. You are a totally different physical being. The excep tion are the corneas in your eyes that have a slow metabolism and last a long time.

But hang on, you might dissent, I am just the same as I used to be. Well almost. If you think about it, the only things you have left, absolutely original and pristine, are your memories: poems, songs, quotes, conversations, friendships and loves. Phew we’re getting a bit philosophical here. But what a treasury we carry. I have dozens of Joni Mitchell songs in my head, available for quiet moments, along with the first poem I ever learned and the sound of my Mother’s voice.

My little rurp is a gleaming silver jewel now with a soft rounded patina. Fifty years of keys and pockets have been like rouge on its surface so that it has a precious glow of its own.

I wonder if our most eminent columnist in these esteemed pages might have an an cient fishing reel with stories to tell and a polished surface as evidence.

What is your long-term companion?

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 was 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.

three killed by hunters, three were shot while preying on domestic animals and the remainder died of natural or un known causes.

One lion, a two-year old male collared in January 2011 at Heil Valley Ranch, was shot by a hunter in December of that same year 250 miles away in Casper, Wyoming.

The study has thus far confirmed that mule deer are the primary prey, with an occasional elk being taken. Other prey, as measured by hair samples at kill sites, includes rac coons, skunks, turkeys and occasionally domestic animals.

The study at this point is inconclusive on the effective ness of relocating problem mountain lions. Only a few

lions are relocated each year because of human conflict but the success of relocation depends on finding a suitable release area that is remote enough so that the lion will not repeat the same problem.

The study states that, “given that cougars currently co

Lowell

This mountain lion was one of many tagged and radio-collared for a study in the Lyons area. CPW biologist Levi Rummel took this picture early in March 2016 at Hall Ranch Open Space here in Lyons.

Feeling nostalgic about a former day job when times were simpler

By John Gierach Redstone Review

LYONS – I recently woke up at first light in a motel room in Basalt, Colorado to the familiar banging and revving of a garbage truck emptying dumpsters.

I recognized the racket instantly from having worked as a garbage man for a while back in my late 20s and early 30s, so this was the soundtrack of my livelihood. It was a hard job with its own set of hazards and heartaches, but I liked it, so I’m now one of those rare people who can be awakened at dawn by a garbage truck, only to lie there for a few minutes feeling nostalgic.

It’s in the nature of memory for things to look simpler in hindsight than they really were, but in this case, I think it really was simple and it was a good time in my life for it. I was a struggling writer just beginning to make some modest headway. I had a book in print (not exactly a best seller, but a step in the right direction) I was doing some magazine work and had landed a column with a daily newspaper that I went on to write for the next 28 years.

But I couldn’t actually make a living from writing yet, so I needed a day job and this was a good one. The hours left time for what I thought of as my real work, the pay was good compared to minimum wage and the other advantages I learned as I went along.

For one thing, I liked driving the garbage truck. It was an enormous, hulking thing with a complicated transmis sion and elaborate hydraulics that I was proud of master ing, although what I really enjoyed was that when people saw this thing coming, they’d instinctively get out of the way. It was big, it was loud, it looked dangerous and although it wasn’t actually surrounded by a swarm of flies, it gave that impression.

My boss was an ex-Hells Angel – although, as with some former Marines I’ve known, there was no “ex” about it – but he was one of the best bosses I’ve ever worked for. He was a big, rough-looking guy who saw things in black and white and had an astute sense of fairness. He went by the name of Stickman.

He expected me to do the job – which was to pick up the trash and get it to the dump – but no more. If I couldn’t pick up a dumpster because someone had parked their car in front of it, that wasn’t my problem. If some moron expected me to lift a 55-gallon drum filled with cinder blocks, that wasn’t my problem, either. Anything having to do with scheduling or billing I referred to the boss’s wife. Problems with the truck went to the boss him self. I did my job and I went home, period.

On the rare occasions when someone insisted on talk ing directly to the owner, he’d always drive out and handle it face to face. He wasn’t exactly a customer service type, but he understood that when a great big dude roars up on the loudest imaginable Harley Davidson, things tend to get settled quickly.

I liked the routes I drove alone, picking up dumpsters and a few isolated residential cus tomers, because I could spend an entire work day without talking to anyone except when I ordered a burger and fries for lunch. I’d always shake off the worst of the dust in the parking lot, but by noon most days I was frankly dirty and may have smelled bad, al though I’d long since stopped noticing that myself. I always got great service, possi bly so I’d get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Then I’d go sit in the truck and read a book while I ate, which is how I earned the nickname “Profes sor.” In certain circles, anyone seen in the company of a book, let alone reading one, becomes the Professor unless the book is a Bible, in which case you’re the “Preacher.”

And I liked the routes where I worked with the boss. These were the ones where there’d be multiple stops per block, so one of us would drive and the other would ride on the back, with one foot up on a small metal step and holding onto an equally small metal handle. Both posi tions required some skill, but riding the back was obvi ously more physical.

You’d step off as the truck was still moving, grab the can and do a kind of pirouette, using the weight of the can to swing and lift it into the hopper just as the truck came to a complete stop. Then you’d skid the can back more or less where you found it and step back onto the already

Friends of the Library are invaluable

By Kara Bauman Redstone Review

LYONS – National

moving truck. It looked mindless, but timing was critical and you had to be careful enough to avoid the missteps that could get you hurt – just careful enough that nothing much else could trouble your mind.

On hot days, it was brutal and on cold days that little step could ice up and cold, numb hands in wet work gloves could slip off the handle, but when it went well it was as wordless and elegant as a ballet and it would have taken a connoisseur to fully appreciate the beauty of it.

The trip to the dump at the end of the route was always vaguely celebratory and there was a kind of satisfaction to elevating the hopper and hydraulically extruding a days’ worth of garbage that had been com pacted during the shift and came out in loose flakes like a warm croissant fresh from the oven. The dump itself was enor mous – a literal ocean of garbage and screaming white flocks of gulls gave it a vaguely nautical flavor that always reminded me of going to the beach.

Naturally we were known to the other drivers who worked for big companies like Western Disposal and BFI (Browning Ferris Industries, although the drivers in sisted it stood for Brute Force and Ignorance.) Some of them saw us as up starts – a hippie and an old biker playing at being garbage men – while oth ers saw us as outlaws, un dercutting the big outfits, but too small to do any real harm. Ei ther way, that fresh croissant we left behind each day was proof that we’d done the job, so we got the re spect we deserved.

I always got paid promptly, the checks never bounced and after especially difficult weeks I’d be slipped a little extra cash; not a fortune, but enough to make the point.

I finally quit in order to be a real, full-time writer. Often the money wasn’t as good and it was never as dependable, but it was what I wanted, so fair enough. In fact, that’s what I was doing in that motel when the garbage truck woke me up: working on a magazine story about fly-fish ing, but also playing because fly-fishing is what I’d be doing even if I wasn’t working.

That’s sort of how I’d envisioned it back then. The only thing I didn’t foresee is that after the garbage truck job, my back would never be the same again.

sale. We couldn’t do it without you.

Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. between October 19 and November 16.

ence to your library community. Need extra incentive to head to Spirit Hound on a Wednesday evening? Local all-woman trio Five-Foot Betty, featuring former Friends Board Member Pam Browning, will play their lively country/bluegrass tunes.

Bauman

Friends of Libraries Week is October 16 to 22. Your Lyons Community Library would like to wholeheartedly thank our tremen dously supportive Friends group.

The Friends of the Library is a nonprofit organization of volunteers who sup port the library by fostering public awareness, sharing enthusiasm for learn ing, and enhancing the library’s services to the community, and boy do they deliver. Our Friends help sponsor programs throughout the year, give generously to our Summer Reading Program, and are always there to arrange a table of punch and cookies anytime we ask.

The Friends will host their annual meet ing at Spirit Hound Distillery on Wednes day, November 2 at 6:30 p.m. where they will elect two new board members for the upcoming year. Please consider joining the Friends of the Library Board so you, too, can help organize their fundraisers and events and know that you make a differ

Once again, we thank our Friends of the Library and those who continue to support the organization, whether through board service, monetary dona tions, volunteering at events, or purchas ing books from our ongoing used book

Lyons is full of cute pets and how better to show off yours than by entering them in our Pet Costume Contest? You have until 5 p.m. on October 27 to email us a photo of your furry – or scaly, slimy, feathery –friend in their finest Halloween regalia. Ini tial entries will be judged by the Teen Ad visory Group, and Facebook voting for their top three will take place on Facebook be tween October 28 and October 30. The winner will be announced on Halloween.

In addition to judging the dressed-up pets of Lyons, area youth in grades 6 to12 are invited to join Lyons resident and Young Adult novelist Jocelyn Bolster for a fiveweek series of creative writ ing exercises. Bolster has worked as a speechwriter, journalist, and editor of English translations. Her current novel, Spindrift Love, was published in July. The series will run on

Area teens are also invited to join us for a Haunted Laser Tag event after the library closes on October 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. Hosted by the Teen Advisory Group, our games are designed to build teamwork skills and provide fun for all. Every at tendee will vote on game options and will take turns participating. Costumes are en couraged, snacks will be provided, and reg istration is required.

Adults need not be envious of the teens’ opportunity to participate in a writing workshop this fall. For the seventh year running, we are pleased to partner with local author Kayann Short, Ph.D., to kick off National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2022. Short will host our regular session of Word Wednesday, billed as a writer’s support group, on November 2 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Then, on November 12, join Short at the library from 9 a.m. until noon for a workshop focused on the writing you want to do now.

On November 2, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., area youth are invited to join Dennis Swift deer Paige for Coyote Awakenings. This hour-long program celebrates the return of the coyote to our area. Play a lively partic ipatory game to learn how coyotes survive

Gierach

“Jasper and Pearl Wander the Mean Streets of Hous ton” by Patrick Cullie, one of the works in the show “Creations” at the library through January 6, 2023

Wildly Lyons: The Practice of Yasmin Suarez Shaddox

By Tamara Haddad Redstone Review

“I call her Wild Woman, for those very words, wild and woman, create the fairy tale knock at the door of the deep female psyche. Wild Woman, Wise Woman, Holy Woman. They share the same heartbeat.”

Dr. Clarrisa Pinkola Estés, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

LYONS – What is a fairy tale if not a story? A story handed down from genera tion to generation, guiding us through the trials and tribulations of being human.

“When we understand the stories behind our life experience, we can return to a vital connection – to our inner nature and health,” said Yasmin Suarez Shaddox, Wild Woman, Soul Guide, and founder of the powerfully transformative, Soulskin Journeys. “I am a nature-based soul guide.”

I first interviewed Shaddox at the begin ning of the COVID shutdown. Instinctu ally, I understood the emotional and mental challenges thrust upon us – the collective global “we.” I felt the thirst for my Mom's stories that could transform the confusion into contentment, but she passed decades ago, so I leaned towards my holistic upbringing and heard the call of Soulskin Journeys. Nonetheless, like many, when our communities, businesses, and friends shuttered their doors, I, too, went into a space challenged by toxicity. Almost two years later, her practice is even

more relevant. So, we recently picked right up where we left off.

TH: How does a soul guide differ from a spiritual/religious guide?

YSS: As a soul guide, I guide folks back to the inherent and trustworthy wisdom in one’s soul. The soul is the seed of our true nature and the essence animating all of na ture. It is wild; it speaks in a mythic lan guage of symbology through dreaming, vision, sensation, imagination, emotions, and encounters that reflect and awaken the vitality residing in soul. As a soul guide, this facilitation process differs from a dog matic approach attached to methods and fixed outcomes that might oppress the soul.

TH: The dogmatic approach, Western psychology, was introduced in the early 19th century and is criticized for its narrow perspective and biases. The Harvard Gazette (4/16/20) points to Joseph Hen rich, who coined Western, Educated, Indus trialized, Rich, and Democratic. “Among the most prominent features that make people WEIRD is prioritizing impersonal pro-so ciality over interpersonal relationships,” said Henrich.

What do you believe is missing from Western psychology, and what should re place its priorities?

YSS: Instead of the limited psychology theory, the soul needs liberation from these dominating forces to guide us into the vulnerability of the unknown, and it requires a surrender to mystery. To be claimed by and rooted in soul, one must descend into disorienting lostness of the

mythic underworld and wander in the fer tile dark, the domain of soul. In my role as a soul guide, I facilitate the navigation of this wild terrain, support, deepen and re flect trust in one's unique journey in this reclamation of soul.

TH: You speak to re-membering one’s vitality. Will you elaborate on the mean ing of “re-membering”?

YSS: It is one of humanity’s greatest core wounds that we are oppressed by the belief that we are separate from nature. Thus, soul work is anti-oppression work. To descend into the realms of soul requires us to question and loosen ourselves from the prescribed roles, identities, and con ditioning of the overculture. Overculture is a term was coined by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. It is a power-over culture that aims to dominate, define, diminish,

and assimilate us. When we become conscious of how the systems of oppression live in and amongst us, we can begin to pry its grip that suffocates our soul. It lib erates us from ways we are tangled in the harmful and oppressive dominating cul ture and thus dismantles these oppressive binds one thread at a time.

TH: This idea provokes so many thoughts and feelings simultaneously. With re-membering does that mean we are lost somehow?

YSS: Our soul, our true essence and the seed of our nature, cannot be lost, only hidden. So, paradoxically, the jour ney is a radical re-membrance of who we already are. It unveils the deeper dimen sions of our soul that we simply cannot recognize yet.

Shaddox works from her land and home in Lyons, Colorado. Soulskin Journeys offer four journeys: Soulskin Circle, Soul skin Wheel, Private Soulskin Journeys, and Family-rooted Soulskin Journeys. Each offers a sliding scale indicative of in tact villages and communities. “There's a reciprocal exchange where everyone takes care of everyone in a network of care- each person has a gift and responsibility to the greater whole and gives generously,” said Yasmine Suarez Shaddox.

This interview is to be continued in next month’s Redstone Review. To find out more, visit www.soulskinjourneys.com/.

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

Workshop teaching how to tell a great story comes to Lyons Library on October 25

By Janaki Jane Redstone Review

LYONS – Everyone loves to listen to stories. We have all heard that we need to tell stories in job interviews, that stories win “hearts and minds” in a way that facts never can (even if they contradict the facts). We can remember that friend or family member who could spin a tale and keep the whole room enthralled.

Have you ever listened to someone like that family member, or The Moth on the radio, or a really good storyteller you met at a party and thought “I wish I could do

better storyteller. The event is free to you, and you can register at https://bit.ly/Great Story1022, or search Eventbrite for How to Tell a Great Story in Lyons (it is less direct, but you should be able to find it if you try).

Stories create a feeling of communion and community, so when we listen to sto ries, we feel closer to the people around us. There is a neurological connection between stories and the area of the brain which is re sponsible for empathy, compassion, and cooperation. Listening to stories increases our oxytocin levels, a hormone that increases empathy, trust, and relationship building. It is no wonder that our ancient ancestors sat around fires telling stories, that many of our more recent ancestors read books to each other in the evening, and that we, ourselves, gather around the electronic fire of our television sets to watch stories each night, instinctively reaching for that feeling of communion.

Telling and listening to stories in person creates a feeling of belonging. When we listen to another tell a story, we can be sur prised by a feeling of recognition: “I’ve felt exactly that,” we think. We can be amazed at what others can survive. Sitting and lis tening to another person tell a personal story about themselves gives us a chance to slow down, to open our hearts and our ears and our minds to the experience of another human being, one who is so like us yet at the same time can be so different.

The Wide Spaces Community Initiative is sponsoring Walker’s How to Tell a Great Story, then another workshop where we get to practice storytelling in small groups, and is then planning to sponsor monthly story telling events at the library in the cooler months and at the A-Lodge when it gets warmer. The events will be family friendly, all-ages story telling events, sort of like a slam or The Moth but there will be no voting and no losers (which means no winners).

get closer. We hope that those who feel that their voices are not heard will feel welcome at these events, and that they will be open to putting their names in the hat to tell their stories.

The first four events in this series, in cluding Johanna Walker’s workshop, are funded by the people of the Town of Lyons through the Lyons Goodwill Fund. It is to be hoped everyone, including those who

do not usually feel heard, will feel welcome and encouraged to come share a story.

Janaki Jane writes on issues of society and mental health. She is the Program Director of the Wide Spaces Community Initiative, a program of the Lyons Community Library. The Initiative’s vision is “A Community of Belong ing and Personal Safety for Everyone.” She can be reached at wsci@lyonsregionallibrary.com.

that.” or “I could never do that.” The truth is that actually, anyone can. We all have stories to tell, we all have wisdom to share.

On Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at the Lyons Library, you will have a chance to learn how to be a better storyteller.

Johanna Walker (johannawalker.com) runs the Boulder Story Slam at the Dairy Arts Center, is a Moth Story winner, TEDx speaker, and a professional storytelling and speaking instructor with decades of experi ence. Walker is a wonderful coach who senses what you need to hear to become a

There will be a different theme every month. The intention is to create the op portunity include all the voices in the Lyons area that want to be heard. This workshop and the coming events are truly for everyone: all ages, all genders, all races, all backgrounds, all identities. Anyone can learn to tell a story. We all benefit when more people do.

The Wide Spaces Community Initiative envisions a town where everyone belongs and feels safe and welcome. We are not there now, but working together, we can

Jane

Johanna Walker brings her workshop “How to Tell a Great Story” to the Lyons Library on Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m

By Sally King Redstone Review

LYONS – I recently was paired with a young poet, April Tierney. She and I performed by the stone structure in the playground at LaVern Johnson Park for fifty bilingual University Hill Elementary School fifth graders. We hit it off with our related disciplines, right brained, loose associations a surprise or two.

April’s practice is to write outside, like Mary Oliver, in the quiet of nature, using her senses, trying to find the language for what she is seeing and feeling. She suggests that there is no wrong way to write a poem.“The pursuit of the poem is what matters” says Tierney. She writes about tiny, and not so tiny, moments

I had the luxury of hearing April read a poem and you might want to also. She is lovely and her words run true. Her next per formance is October 23, Stories of Grit and Grace: A Gathering of Women’s Voices and Artistry at The Yellow Barn Farm in Longmont, 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Sally King is a local artist who has created whimsical bears and delightful wildflower acrylic paintings to enhance the appearance of Lyons all over the town. She lives with her husband John King, a kinetic sculptor, near Lyons. April Tierney’s book of poems is titled Memory Keeper

Meet April Tierney, our local poet King

Miscarriages of Justice

By April Tierny

If witch means wise woman, then what happens when all the wise women of the world are killed?

Don’t be so quick to hand over an answer.

Mary MacLoed of Rodel was a Gaelic poet who was buried face down under stones the puritanical way of tending to a witch, so that her soul would be weighted forever.

She was killed for reciting poetry, a subversive act for any woman or admired or decency.

Each time I stand on stage my whole being shakes; I relive the moments where wisdom was misused against the ones who upheld it.

And after the show is over? Well, that’s when the torment really begins.

I lay awake in bed, every inch of my body Burning, My cells endure their dread: tens of thousands of European women so many, our ancestors murdered for being artists, seers, teachers, healers, and memory keepers.

Even now, I feel terrified of being set aflame or tortured to confess to something I did not do (nor do I believe it would be wrong, if I had)

So I converse with my grandmothers and aunties who are swimming in my blood. I tell them about the times we are living in now how the church is not out to get me, it has thoroughly forgotten my name. This requires a lot of consolation (words I’m not even sure I believe) but they hold vigil deep into the night, so my kinship is what I can offer.

Great, great, great granddaughters: each time we stand, dance, or declare some ligament of truth, we do so for them. There is wisdom among us yet.

Mural unveiling and public art celebration

By Kim Mitchell Redstone Review

LYONS – Whimsical or serious, thought provoking or iconic, the sculptures and murals that grace the public spaces in our community brighten them up. Public art in Lyons also helps to enrich the physical, economic, social and cultural elements within our community.

On Wednesday, October 12, a magical fall afternoon, many in the community came to the Lyons Town Hall courtyard

to celebrate the recent public art instal lation and unveiling of the mural created by Android Jones. Jones grew up in Lyons, graduating from Lyons Middle / Senior High School.

His creative talent is often featured with Burning Man and the artist has had his art featured on six continents, including pro jecting his work on the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building. At the mural unveiling, Jones spoke about the mural process and explained how special this process was to him, to have his art

The installation of the mural created by Android Jones was celebrated in the Town Hall courtyard on October 12. The Peacock Parade was present and struck a fabulous pose under the mural’s peacock. Lyons native Jones is pictured on the far left of the revellers.

work displayed publicly in the town that he lives in and grew up in.

The Lyons Arts and Humanities Com mission reached out to Android Jones in March, 2021 to ask about the possibility of including his world-renowned artwork and talent in Lyons as part of its public art pro gram. While the installation process lasted nearly one week, the mural and creative process was an 18-month engagement in cluding fundraising, town board meetings and creative direction. Work on the mural wrapped up in late September and the Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission celebrated in tandem last week with their quarterly town hall and library art shows.

These local quarterly art shows provide a venue for our residents to display their creative side and for the public to enjoy. Be sure to take some time to visit both venues, you will be impressed with the level of artistic talent that resides in Lyons.

The Lyons Arts and Humanities Commis

sion (LAHC) is volunteer driven. One of their signature programs is the heARTs of Lyons, which is a perennial celebration of art and sculpture displayed outdoors throughout our quaint town. Small but mighty Lyons is an arts-rooted destination, noted for its music, artists, and natural beauty.

The heARTS of Lyons rotating collec tion offers more than two dozen public art installations, a compelling palette of art that escorts travelers through the town for all to enjoy. The LAHC wishes to thank the previous and current Board of Trustees for their continued support and apprecia tion of public art in Lyons. In addition, public art funding also comes from the Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) and the residents who graciously donate to this important non-profit in Lyons.

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

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LCF celebrates success of Matching Grant Campaign

By Tanya MercerDaty Redstone Review

LYONS – In August of this year, an anonymous donor presented the Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) with an incredible opportunity: a matching grant campaign.

therefore unlocking both $10,000 match ing grants. The LCF Advisory Board is in credibly grateful for the 30+ donors who donated amounts ranging from $5 to $2,500 to make this happen.

Mercer-Daty

The donor offered to match any and all donations to LCF, up to $10,000, before the end of October. Halfway to our goal, Planet Bluegrass jumped in to match an additional $10,000 dollars, if we reached our initial goal.

Paired with the support from our anonymous donor, this raised our fundraising potential for this campaign to $30,000 dollars.

As of October 11, LCF had reached and exceeded its initial goal of raising $10,000,

As Gail Frankfort, one of the donors, said when she presented her check to LCF, “I love my town. I never had a love affair with a town until I moved to Lyons. It’s like no other town I have lived in. It offers such a great variety of cultural, artistic, social, edu cational, and recreational activities, most free of charge to me and all Lyons area resi dents. I want this Lyons experience to con tinue so I’m doing my part to ensure that happens by supporting the Lyons Commu nity Foundation. And, now is the perfect time to do so as my contribution will be matched by some generous Lyons residents.”

Another donor, David Hamrick, said,

“LCF is one of the many things that makes Lyons a great place to live. A donation to LCF keeps the money here in town to help support local residents, the arts, and pro vide student scholarships. My family thor oughly enjoys the summer Sandstone concerts and they are a great way to spend a summer evening. Due to the matching gift of generous Lyons’ donors, donating now has triple the impact, making this a perfect time to donate to LCF.”

Thanks to the many generous residents who responded when asked to contribute to this campaign, LCF can allocate money to future community projects. In the end, it’s the greater Lyons community and its residents who will benefit. We cannot think of a better reason to live where we do. Thank you to all who participated in our matching grant campaign.

Squirrel Awareness Month sees an uptick of bushy-tailed patients at Greenwood

By Kaite Fletcher Redstone Review

LYONS – Found hurt under a tree, a fox squirrel youngster was rescued and brought to Greenwood with a possible broken front leg. Luckily, upon her initial exam, the animal care techni cian discovered the mammal’s leg was intact; however, some soft tissue damage was sustained from the fall. She was otherwise in good condition. Pain and flea preven tion medications were given.

A couple weeks later, this squirrel was still smaller than her friends, so her diet was supplemented with avocado for some extra fat nutrients. She was back on track after a few days. Now this feisty fox squir rel spends the day continuously wrestling with her “roommates” and snacking on as sorted nuts, leaves, and fruits.

This patient is among the 130 squirrels and counting currently onsite at the cen ter, a fitting time for October’s Squirrel Awareness Month.

Home in Colorado There are nine

squirrel species across the state of Col orado. Each inhabits its own distinct ecosystem, from the Eastern plains to the red cliffs of the West. These species are split into subcategories: tree squirrels and ground squirrels.

Fox squirrels, pine squirrels, and Abert’s squirrels live in forest habitats where they construct nests of leaves, sticks, and nee dles. Rust-colored fox squirrels reside in deciduous woodlands, usually along river banks and streams. The pine squirrels are the smallest, yet most territorial of their category, defending their pine cones with physical force. Sporting tufted ears and long, furry tails, the Abert’s squirrels build their homes in the ponderosa pine forests.

Nearly every area of Colorado is home to at least one species of ground squirrel. Across the grasslands are thirteen-lined and spotted squirrels; the rock squirrels live within the western cliffs and canyons; mountain parks are home to the Wyoming and golden-mantled ground squirrels; the white-tailed antelope squirrels occupy the desert shrublands.

At Greenwood, most of our patients are fox squirrels since they have adapted to

Tree squirrels, like this fox squirrel, produce two litters of young a year.

the urban forests of the Denver metro area.

Tree squirrels also have two breeding sea sons whereas ground squirrels only have one in the springtime. This contributes to their higher populations.

Tessa Parrish, Greenwood’s Animal Care Assistant, explains that the center helps sustain populations within the ecosystem by caring for and releasing healthy squirrels back into their natural habitat, which helps minimize the impact

of humans on our wild community.

All types of squirrels are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and retreat to their nests at night. Each plays an important role in their own habitats from predatorprey interactions to a natural insecticide.

“Sometimes they forget their nuts, so they help with reforestation. They are cru cial prey animals for species, like our beau tiful raptors and other birds of prey along with coyotes and foxes,” said education and front desk coordinator MeLena Truijillo.

Squirrels have a habit of burying various seeds, which makes them a huge contrib utor to plant reproduction and seed disper sal. Their forgetfulness allows a plant’s domain to expand.

This year, by the end of September, Greenwood had released 127 squirrels back into their appropriate habitats while more than 130 remained in our care. This is 50 more squirrel patients compared to 2021. More information can be found at greenwoodwildlife.org.

Farm Animals

Corn Maze

Vintage Farm Tractors

Kaitlyn Fletcher is the Communications and Content Associate at Greenwood Wildlife Sanctuary in Longmont.

Fletcher

Donor Gail Frankfort, center, presents her check to Jeanne Moore, chair of LCF and Gil Sparks, vice-chair of LCF.

SEASONS

Celebration for opening 4th Avenue Bridge and the one and only Halloween Spooktacular Parade

By Kim Mitchell Redstone Review

LYONS – It’s October in Lyons, signifying the season when local parades, creative expression and community spirit meld together.

On Friday, October 21 at 2:30 p.m., we encourage the entire community to come together and join in the cele bration of the Safe Route to School and 4th Avenue Pedestrian Bridge.

Nothing too formal, but rather a chance to reflect, min gle, celebrate, dance, strut across the bridge, be happy and share in the “I love Lyons” community vibe. It’s been a long journey to replace this community connection since the September, 2013 flood.

Later that evening, the Lyons Regional Library hosts the inaugural performance of Local Community Theatre. The first performance is at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 21. Be prepared to be thoroughly entertained by local super stars and performers for a nostalgic trip to the bygone days of radio theater with episodes of Dragnet and Burns and Allen performed before a live audience. The multigenera tional volunteer cast is ready to entertain you and make you laugh. Admission is free but donations are appreciated with all proceeds to Lyons Arts and Humanities Commis sion and the Friends of Lyons Library.

Can’t make it on Friday evening? There will also be a

matinee performance on Saturday, October 22 at 3 p.m. Adult beverages and soft drinks will be available for the Friday evening performance with soft drinks only for the Saturday matinee.

Opportunities for creative expression roll into the next weekend with the Rave to the Grave benefit for the Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF) on Friday, October 28 at 6 p.m. in Lavern Johnson Park. Rave to the Grave is LEAF’s signature event and fundraiser. It’s also a chance to dress up, dance and share in creative expression. Over 21 only please.

Save Saturday, October 29 for the Spooktacular Cele bration. Activities and events for the kids will be held again this year at the Lyons Elementary School Play ground from 4 to 5:30 p.m. In addition, the Lyons Elemen tary School Choir will perform with Halloween-themed music outside at the school.

Line-up for the Halloween Parade begins at 5:45 p.m. with the Lyons Middle/Senior High School Band leading the parade. The Halloween Parade starts at 6 p.m. This is a foot parade only. No vehicles. Line-up starts outside the elementary school along High Street and the parade heads west bound along Main Street to 5th Avenue and rounds the corner back to High Street. Costumes are encouraged and all ages are invited to share in the spooky season spirit.

We are looking for a few volunteers to help with the kids’ events and activities. Please contact Kim Mitchell,

Michael and James Brighton show their enthusiasm for the return of the 4th Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, out of comission since 2013. Photo by their dad, Ian Brighton.

kmitchell@townoflyons.com if you can volunteer in the afternoon for a few hours on Saturday, October 29.

On a final note of community creative expression and local talent, the Clarifier Community Mosaic will be hav ing an interpretive sign installed in the next few months to share information about the project and the artistic community who came together to make their vision a re ality. Stay tuned for more details.

Kim Mitchell is Director of Communications and Commu nity Relations for the Town of Lyons. She has called Lyons home since 2009.

Lyons Garden Club Chili Cook-Off set for October 29 at MainStage Brewing Co.

By Sara Erickson Redstone Review

LYONS – October 29 will be chili in Lyons. The Lyons Garden Club, which will be spicing things up at the annual Spooktacular Halloween Parade with its first cook-off since 2019, is excited to part ner with MainStage Brewing for this Lyons tradition. Come to enjoy the parade, and then come to MainStage for good eats, drinks and music.

Do you have a chili recipe that can’t be beat? Enter it in the cook-off and win a great prize. Winners in the red, green, and vegetarian categories will receive gift cards from a local restaurant. Remember, there is no entry fee.

Register online at the LGC website

NEW LISTING

(www.lyonsgardenclub.com.) or register in person on October 29. Bring your chili to MainStage Brewing starting at 3:30 p.m. Bring a labeled crockpot and ladle and complete the ingredients card, which can

be downloaded from the LGC website.

Judging and sales will begin at 4:30 p.m. The cook-off will end at 7 p.m. or until we run out of chili, which happens.

Tastes are available for $1 each, $5 for

five tastes, or purchase a bowl for $5. Past participants often purchase several tastes and then settle in on a bowl of their fa vorite. Beverages will be available for pur chase at MainStage. Many thanks to MainStage for its support of this event. Plan now to make and enter your chili. The more entries, the more chili, the more fun.

Please contact Sue Wratten at 720-5802475 or Sara Erickson at sarae403 @gmail.com. for more information. Messages can also be sent through our website. All proceeds go to Lyons Garden Club nonprofit projects. Check out our website to see our projects and events.

Cook and compete or just come to eat.

Sara Erickson is a member of the Lyons Garden Club.

NEW LISTING

EXQUISITE MOUNTAIN LIVING ONLY 5 MINUTES FROM THE TOWN OF LYONS! This solid 3-bedroom, 3bathroom mountain home on 4+ acres has a good floor plan with a kitchen that opens up to the family room and versatile rec room in the lower level. Private master suite includes a full bathroom with a soaking tub, walk-in closet and double sinks. Enjoy beautiful views and excellent privacy from the spacious deck overlooking the popular Picture Rock trail. Home has a 1 car carport below the deck. 656 Jasper Drive / $840,000

NEW LISTING

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. Zoned commercial downtown. 418 High Street, Lyons / $775,000

THIS GREAT PINEWOOD SPRINGS HOME LETS YOU LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS WHILE BEING CLOSE ENOUGH TO COMMUTE TO BOULDER, ESTES PARK, LYONS AND LONGMONT WITHIN 30 MINUTES! Sitting on almost an acre of land, this home is in a serene setting, with well-maintained roads, district water, and space between neighbors. This home is in solid condition but could use some minor updates, like new carpets, and minor handyman repairs here and there. Large lofted ceilings in the living room and kitchen provide an airy feel in a cozy setting. The oversized 2-car garage features an additional workshop space with vented airbrush station, and giant loft space for extra storage or potential to finish it and make an office space or music studio. LISTED BY IAN PHILLIPS 44 Cheyenne Drive / $685,000

SALE PENDING

SALE PENDING

FABULOUS CUSTOM-BUILT LOG HOME SITUATED ON NEARLY 20 ACRES WITH SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN VALLEY JUST 5 MINUTES FROM THE LOVELY TOWN OF LYONS! This unbelievably solid home features an open floor plan with soaring ceilings, huge windows framing the amazing views, spacious new gourmet kitchen and luxury owner’s suite. Fully finished basement includes family room, 2 bedrooms + bath and ample storage. Extensive custom landscaping including multiple hiking trails, fabulous 60x 40 barn/ shop, 24 x 12 loafing shed/ tack room, cross-fenced pastures and corral. A gem! 294 County Road 37E, Lyons / $1,690,000

SALE PENDING

ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE THE ICONIC STONE CUP CAFÉ BUILDING IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN LYONS! Also known as “Lyons’ Front Porch” where you see and hear what is happening and actively make things happen! Cafe business and all fixtures, furnishings, equipment and inventory is included in price— truly a “turnkey” operation! Huge lot for parking, events, storage, etc. Separate retail space currently rented for $1,000/ month. 442 High Street, Lyons / $1,150,000

GREAT SOUTHERN EXPOSURE AND LOVELY VIEWS ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF THIS 1.36 ACRE LOT ADJOINING 99 ACRES OF PRIVATE OPEN SPACE WITH HIKING TRAILS AND LITTLE THOMPSON RIVER FRONTAGE! Easy access just 10 minutes from the Town of Lyons. Electricity and shared well at the lot. Views of amazing geological features, river valley and abundant wildlife! Sunship is a small community sharing a vision of peaceful and sustainable living. 1115 Vision Way, Lyons / $185,000

Dan Siddall broker/owner

Colleen Dickes associate broker Ian Phillips associate broker Dot Fears associate broker

CROSSROADS

Spicy sumacs shine on fall hillsides

By Jessie Berta-Thompson Redstone Review

LYONS – Around Lyons this time of year, certain shrubs take on a candy palette of cherry, orange, lemon, and lime, each mound a slightly different shade. This festive color comes from the threeleaf sumac (Rhus trilobata), a dominant shrub of the local foothills. Subtler than the blaze of aspen up high, or the yellow ing of grand dame cottonwoods on ditches, three-leaf sumac color is an unmistakable Colorado fall treat.

A closely related but different-looking species, the smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), is also gorgeous in fall, turning an intense range of reds. Both species are native to Colorado, growing on rocky hillsides at moderate elevations. La belled examples can be visited in the Foothills zone of the Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens (RMBG, rmbg.org).

Three-leaf sumacs grow 3 to 4 feet tall, or bigger in a garden with water and soil enrichment. Their leaves are small, at most a few inches across, and, unsurpris ingly, usually divided into three parts, with dainty curves to the leaf edges. Smooth sumac grows 6 feet tall wild, or 15 feet tall in richer conditions, and spreads by under

R

Briefs Continued from Page 1

Election Alert Hotline: The 2020 Gen eral Election saw unprecedented levels of misand disinformation. National and state elec tion experts expect that trend to continue. Additionally, our office has set up a dedicated email and hotline to report any potential misor disinformation claims and/or voting con cerns: ElectionAlert@bouldercounty.org or 720-729-7667 (leave a message with details, include a screenshot if possible, and a staff member will follow up).

Mail your ballot by October 31 or use a 24hour drop box anytime. Ballots due by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8. Post

ground runners to form thickets. It has foot-long gracefully drooping leaves, each with 7 to 21 leaflets, their exuberant look almost tropical compared to most plants in our high and dry environment.

The fruits of both species are a single hard seed covered in velvety red fuzz. On the three-leaf sumac fruits are hidden until leaves fall, growing in small clumps. On the smooth sumac, fruits are in big pyra mids atop the plants, with 700 to 1000 seeds apiece. Both species are fire-tolerant, burning to the ground then resprouting from their roots.

Dozens of sumac species grow across the world. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), na tive to the Eastern U.S., is like smooth sumac but bigger and with velvety, not smooth, young stems. The tangy spice sumac, common in Middle Eastern cooking and a component of the spice mix za’atar, usually comes from Rhus coriaria, a small sumac tree that grows from the Mediter ranean to western Asia. The outer coating of the dried fruit, a red flaky shell, is ground to make the spice. Rhus coriaria is some times called tanner’s sumac because it was also used as source of tannin for preserving animal hides.

Indigenous Americans from many tribes across the continent found myriad uses for sumac, including medicine, dye, food, to bacco mixtures, and beverages. The Chippewa used a decoction of smooth

marks do not count.

For more election information, visit www.BoulderCountyVotes.org, call 303-4137740, or email Vote@BoulderCountyVotes.org.

Safe Route to School and 4th Ave Pedestrian Bridge celebration

LYONS – Join us for a community celebration at the Bridge on Friday, October 21 beginning at 2:30 p.m. The elementary students, staff and families will head over after school lets out. We hope many of you can join us.

So many are excited to have this neighbor hood connection and path back. Join in the celebration and sharing of community spirit, resilience, determination and GRIT as flood recovery projects continue to wrap up and wind down in Lyons.

sumac flowers to comfort teething kids.

The Cahuilla, Hopi, and other groups used the straight, pliant new growth of three leaf sumac to make baskets, trim ming or burning thickets to stimulate growth of the right kinds of stems. Many tribes used sumac fruits to make a drink similar to pink lemonade, a tradition that’s spread widely among modern foragers and outdoor enthusiasts (sumac-ade).

Sumacs are in the cashew family (Anac ardiaceae), along with pistachios, mangos, and poison ivy. Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are closely related to each other (genus Toxicodendron), and all pro duce the strong skin irritant urushiol.

Of these, only western poison ivy (Tox icodendron rydbergii) grows in Colorado. True sumacs (genus Rhus) do not produce urushiol but do make their own complex compounds to deter grazing (just slightly less aggressively), including those tannins and latex sap. Defense molecules give three-leaf sumac a spicy scent that people find variously aromatic or foul, giving the plant its other name, skunkbush.

With these defenses, mammalian herbi vores generally avoid sumacs unless food is scarce. The sumac flea beetle has adapted a tolerance for the bitterness and toxicity of sumac leaves, as well as the creative habit of covering itself in its own feces, de ploying lingering sumac compounds to deter predatory ants. Birds use the seeds as a valuable source of winter food, and the plants’ dense networks of branches offer excellent cover. This wildlife value and its

fall beauty make sumac a good choice for low-water garden shrubs.

As the growing season ends, we’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped our garden this year. Many thanks to Betsy Burton and the Lyons Farmette for making our nonprofit the beneficiary of one of their Wednesday Farm Dinners this summer and to Cathy Rivers for vol unteering that night. We’re grateful to the Front Range Chapter of Wild Ones, a nonprofit dedicated to “Native plants, Natural landscapes,” for donating after sending an enthusiastic group for an RMBG tour. See frontrange.wildones.org for more about them, including upcom ing free seed swaps. Cemex made a gen erous $3,000 donation to the RMBG, through local representative Michael Clausen, enabling several large projects, including two large signs and Colorado Native Plant Society gardening booklets for the community, available in our little free library.

Finally, we’d like to thank all our individual donors, fundraiser shoppers, and, most of all, our volunteers, for many hours of work cheerfully given.

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.

Berta-Thompson

B

Roasted cauliflower salad is a between-seasons accompaniment

By Barbara Shark Redstone Review

other 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and tender. Cut the slabs into large bite-sized pieces.

LYONS – On these in-between fall days with warm afternoons and cool evenings I’m not quite ready to dive into cold weather cooking. I like to pre pare winterish vegetables in a summery way. This roasted cauliflower salad is a perfect accompaniment to grilled salmon or steak, or alongside a sandwich.

Shark

Cut a cauliflower into 3/4 inch slabs and arrange on a grill pan, or use a baking sheet with sides, covered with a sheet of parchment.

Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 400 degrees. I include the tiny bits of cauliflower that fall off when I cut the slabs. They get crunchy and provide another tex ture in the salad. Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes then turn (you will be glad you have big pieces). Cook an

While the cauliflower is roasting, make the vinaigrette. In a serving bowl big enough for the cauliflower, combine a generous tablespoon of rough, whole-grain mustard, the kind with seeds, and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Slowly add about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Put the warm, cut up cauliflower into the bowl and toss to coat with the vinaigrette.

Add eight to 12 green olives, cut in half. I use Castel vetrano but your favorite green olive will be delicious. Green olives have the perfect sharp, pungent taste to con trast with the cauliflower.

Just before serving at room temperature, add a handful of toasted, chopped hazelnuts or sliced almonds, a nice note in this dish. If you add them too soon they will lose their crunch.

Top with a good handful of chopped Italian parsley or cilantro. Leave at room temperature. If that makes you nerv ous, refrigerate but be sure to remove well before eating.

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 at www.howilearnedtocookanartistslife.blog.

Bear Force One becomes Katmai National Park and Preserve’s winner of Fat Bear Week

By Staff Reports Redstone Review

KATMAI, Alaska – It was a drama-filled week in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, although the contestants were oblivious, as the votes were counted for the winner of the Fat Bear Week con test. It was a real nail biter this year.

But after all the votes were sorted out, the winner was fat bear 747, also named Bear Force One (BFO). The bear con testants all have a number and some of them have been given names along with their numbers. Bear Force One is esti mated to weigh in at 1,400 lbs. and also won Fat Bear Week in 2020.

fans vote on Explore.org for their favorite con tender until one is chosen the winner on Fat Bear Tuesday.

Many fans can and do vote for what appears to be the largest bear, but many others vote

other bear as big as him.”

Other contestants include Bear 901 and Bear 435, also known as Holly. From her be fore and after photos, Bear 901 appeared to have tripled in size over the summer, leading rangers to guess she may be pregnant.

Meanwhile, 747 started off the season big but came back to the river this year with a wonky ear, “probably because he got in a fight with another bear and maybe didn’t fare well,” Fitz said. That gave fans a reason to rally behind Bear Force One’s big behind.

Travels with Redstone

Tom and Melinda Wunder celebrated their 25th anniversary in Venice, Italy at the Le Biennale, held once every four years. They viewed hundreds of artists’ works from 43 countries worldwide.

Take the Redstone with you on your next trip and send us your photos showing where the Redstone has traveled. Send your photos to redstarnews5@gmail.com

But of course, no one actually weighs the bears. The weight is an es timate from their photos and the live Bear Cams that are set up on the river to watch the bears. Viewers can vote on the bear they think is the biggest and their most favorite bear.

BFO 747 beat out a rookie brown bear 901 by more than 11,000 votes. For the uniniti ated, Fat Bear Week is a single-elimination tournament that pits 12 brown bears in Katmai against each other in an online bracket for the sake of conservation awareness. As the bears finish beefing up for winter hibernation,

based on a bear’s relative fatness, its personal ity (as observed on Katmai’s live Bear Cams) or the obstacles it overcame to get so fat that season.

“You’re looking at one of the largest bears in the world (747),” Mike Fitz, Fat Bear Week creator and Explore.org resident naturalist, said on Fat Bear Tuesday. “We don’t know ex actly how big he is, but he is a giant among bears ... it may be a long time before we see an

But the biggest shock of the week came when contest officials said some one – or some people – voted illegally during the semifinal matchup between 747 and 435 Holly.

Candice Rusch, spokesperson for Explore.org, said that about 90 per cent of the fraudulent votes were cast for 435 Holly, who ended up losing in the semi finals by about 7,500 votes. A few illegal votes were cast for 747, leading the Explore.org team to believe it was an effort by a different scam mer or an attempt to throw off the scent of the larger ruse.

But the fraudulent votes were discovered and changes were made to the system. Despite the cheating scandal, Fat Bear Week 2022 was an overwhelming success, according to organizers.

the 25 years passed, the Dow Flats Quarry is closed, and we’ve all benefited in con crete and soon-closed open space.

Cemex had a responsibility to their shareholders to negotiate with Boulder County to extend mining at Dowe Flats. In the spirit of profit and shareholder driven corporate industrialism this is totally nor mal. Why was their special use not ex tended? Even though a few folks have been talking about climate change for far longer than 25 years, it appears now that it’s becoming real for a wider group including the Town of Lyons, the BoCo Planning Com missioners, the County Commissioners and citizens who insist we make changes on be half of our grandchildren.

What’s next for Cemex Lyons? Attorney James R. Silvestro, representing local en vironmental group Save Our St. Vrain Valley, wrote in a memo to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners that, “Without a formal administrative re view, (County) Staff has incorrectly assumed that the cement plant is a legal nonconforming use and that it will not lose that status” if the extension is denied and Cemex starts importing raw materials.

The Colorado Air Pollution Control Di vision (APCD) provides compliance over sight of Cemex Lyons. Since 2000, Cemex has been the subject of 12 formal enforce ment actions. Based on observations during inspections, APCD also found Cemex Lyons “not in compliance” with 12 permit requirements in 2018, “out of compliance” due to two violations in 2019, and “not in compliance” with six requirements in 2020. Cemex has also reached settlements with the EPA four times due to violations.

In 2013, Cemex paid a $1 million civil penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act at the plant in Lyons. The most recent settlement between Cemex and the EPA was in 2016.

Colorado is also home to another ce ment plant in Florence, near Pueblo, that is installing state-of-the-art technology that will virtually eliminate their carbon footprint entirely. Cemex’s competitor, LafargeHolcim, received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to re search and develop a system to capture and sequester the plant’s carbon dioxide emis sions and is using it at their Florence plant.

It’s highly unlikely that the Lyons cement plant can simply continue to operate inde

pendently of the Dowe Flats quarry without modifications to their current state mining permit, M-1977-208. While these two sites (the mine north of Hwy. 66 and the Lyons Quarry/Plant south of Hwy. 66) have differ ent permits, they are inextricably linked. In order to change the source location of the plant’s material (i.e. truck in material because it can no longer be brought over by conveyor from Dowe Flats), three statelevel permits must be modified or amended:

The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) likely must provide an updated M1977208 permit to change the source location; this should be a amendment, that requires public input, but even in the event of a technical revi sion, the community can exercise its right to object and call for a hearing.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) likely must provide the appropriate access permits for an increase of truck traffic.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) likely must ultimately process and approve the Title V operating permit renewal. CDPHE is very backed up in processing renewals, as the current permit expired March, 2022. However, the law allows for contin ued operation while the permit is in the renewal process.

Nonconforming use? For Cemex to begin trucking in material, Boulder County will very likely have to willfully ignore Cemex’s violation of Land Use Article 41003.C.1.d, which provides for termina tion based on “Any other enlargement or

exist with humans ... along the Front Range, varying lev els of cougar-human interaction are inevitable.”

Given this inevitability and since we all live in the mountain lions’ backyard it only makes sense to adjust to this reality to protect ourselves, our animals and the lions.

John Koehler, CPW wildlife officer whose district covers Lyons, said that he can recall only one instance in the last few years where a mountain lion was a problem in the Lyons area and had to be captured and relocated.

“Normally when we have conflicts, it’s a lion and live stock or pets,” Koehler said. “Lions aren’t normally aggres sive with people because they don’t view people as prey.”

Koehler said what’s important about living in lion country is to understand their lives and take reasonable precau tions, both on the trail and at home.

in the modern world, listen to a whimsical Zuni tale about Old Coyote Woman and mystic grasshopper, engage in the coyote-friendly version of Home on the Range accompanied by harmonica, and then be enthralled by the amazing true story of how Swiftdeer was saved by a coyote in the rugged high desert of New Mexico.

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

eases among workers and host community residents of cement factories”.

Cemex CKD disposal practices at the Lyons plant are unknown. From 1969 to 1999 it is unclear the location of CKD dis posal and exactly how much CKD was dis posed over the decades. That’s because the Colorado Department of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) didn’t take on CKD disposal regulation for the ce ment industry until 1999. Since 1999, CKD has been disposed of in C-Pit at the Lyons Quarry (Cemex’s plant), with a modeled capacity of 600,000 cubic yards over a 20-year time frame.

alteration of nonconforming use which has the effect or threatened effect of creation of a hazard or nuisance on or off the prop erty, of adversely affecting the character of the neighborhood, or of intensifying the use of the land or its need for services.”

Cemex’s cement plant is presumed to be a legal, nonconforming use. That is land use code for a structure or land use that has been grandfathered in. While there are a number of policies in the land use code to protect grandfathered, or nonconforming structures and uses, there are also several designed to trigger a review, giving Boulder County the power to remove the noncon forming structure or use. Changing the source of the plant’s material from a local to a remote location, and also the signifi cant increase in truck traffic to bring in that material, should trigger a review of the plant’s nonconforming status.

Land Use Code Article 4-1001.A stip ulates that the County has a duty to elim inate nonconformity “as speedily as justice will permit,” which is why we have poli cies to trigger a review.

Cement kiln dust (CKD) is a byproduct of the cement manufacturing process that begins with the extraction of limestone and shale at Dowe Flats. Ultimately, CKD is generated in the cement plant and dis posed of adjacent to the plant on the south side of Hwy. 66. CKD has “been known to precede a number of systemic injuries with particular reference to the respiratory, gas trointestinal, and integumentary systems characterized by fibrosis, emphysema, cough, cancer, inflammation, and liver dis

A CPW brochure, Living With Lions, is available on the CPW website (www.wildlife.state.co.us ) and is a mustread for hikers, bikers and homeowners in our area.

Among the brochure’s key points is that while lions gen erally avoid people there are instances where a surprise confrontation is possible, particularly if there is a recent kill nearby. If you should chance upon either a fresh or cached kill (covered with leaves and dirt), you can be sure a lion is nearby and you should leave the area immediately.

Should you surprise a lion on the trail, retreat slowly –never run – always facing the animal and talking loudly. Make yourself “big” by spreading your jacket and raising your arms.

Living and recreating in mountain lion country as we do in the Lyons area doesn’t mean we are in danger. It simply means taking precautions and remaining alert.

Writer Barbara Kingsolver, in talking about another

24/7 at lyons.colibraries.org and we’re always open for dig ital downloads on both the Libby and CloudLibrary apps. Give us a call at 303-823-5165 or email info@lyonsli brary.com with any questions. Please see the calendar on our website for additional program information and for registration instructions.

Kara Bauman is the Director of the Lyons Community Li brary 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.

For reference, a 71-acre Portland Ce ment site located in Salt Lake City, Utah had about 500,000 cubic yards of CKD de posited as fill material between 1963 and 1983. That activity contaminated soil, air, and groundwater with heavy metals and the site was designated as a Superfund Site.

Recommendations from Colorado DRMS instruct that “fresh” CKD should never be placed or allowed to be placed in advertently, in open flowing water or in areas, such as flood plains, where open flow ing water may reach the “fresh” CKD prior to a few weeks of curing. Cemex Lyons Plant site is in a floodway and floodplain. The City of Longmont is downstream.

If that wasn’t scary enough, CKD fugi tive dust plumes at Cemex Lyons are a well chronicled problem. Local residents have been the sole, de facto monitoring mech anism for this for decades. Following up on one such complaint in early 2022, DRMS references the frequent issues at the plant and noted that the CKD disposal pit was not serviced for a number of days, which resulted in the reported dust emissions. The inspector noted, “it appears the oper ator is not effectively controlling wind ero sion of these materials”.

CKD disposal is a highly toxic disaster waiting to surface. CKD can be incredibly dangerous to humans, wildlife and the en vironment, there is an unfathomable amount of it generated and then buried at the Cemex plant site. If not managed properly, CKD can be absorbed into the ground water, where local residents largely rely on well water, and the groundwater continues downstream to the City of Longmont.

Thank you Cemex. It’s been a profitable 25 years and now it’s time to walk and talk your new global corporate citizen role.

Ed Kean is a Lyons resident.

type of lion, said, “Once individuals have experienced ‘lion,’ not just with their eyes during a TV nature show but with their ears, nose and the little hairs that stand up on the back of your neck when a lion stares you down, they can be expected to share the world with lions in a different way that will be more protective of the animal’s right to occupy their own place.”

And if the lion’s place happens to be the place where we live, then mountain lions are part of the deal we’ve made to live here with nature at our doorstep – a nature that sometimes demands an extra degree of awareness.

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

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

Photo of a dust event at Cemex Lyons on 9/16/2022, documented by Edward Kean. The Cemex plant is barely visible here, obscured by a cloud of its own filth.