Arvada Press March 6, 2025

Lawmakers o er more mental health help for youth

Bills tackle insurance coverage and cell phone use in schools

BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Legislation aimed at improving the mental health of Colorado’s children is gaining ground after garnering bipartisan support among lawmakers, say bill advocates.

“I think everyone is aware that there is a mental health crisis among our kids,” said Zach Zaslow, VP of Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “I think (lawmakers) are stepping up to be helpful in ghting this crisis.”

Schooled in history

Restaurant

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

team members still on board BUSINESS

nections, meeting people from all walks of life, and having interesting conversations are some of the reasons I love my job.

Zaslow, Dr. Lauren Eckhart, clinical director for the Colorado Springs division of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado and about 100 parents, health care providers and primary care physicians were at the State Capitol to hail the passage of two key bills — HB 25 1002 and HB 251135.

Both measures passed the State House and now are headed for Senate hearings before they are voted on by the whole legislature.

Over 140 years after one of Arvada’s oldest buildings was constructed, a new legacy is beginning to take shape. School House Kitchen and Libations — located, ttingly, in the city’s rst schoolhouse — has carved out a niche as one of Olde Town Arvada’s restaurant staples with the help of some longtime employees. In February, School House marked a decade in business, thanks in large part to two employees that Owner Scott Spears calls “the glue that holds the School House together,” Kitchen Manager Paula Hotaling and General Manager Andy Busold, who have been with the restaurant since opening day.

Part of what’s kept Hotaling and Busold in the fold so long is the camaraderie of Olde Town Arvada.

“I love the feeling of community, both inside the restaurant and throughout Olde Town Arvada,” Busold said. “Our sta is a fun-loving team of great people. ey are the reason I enjoy coming to work each day. Making new con-

“My wife knows that if I say I’m on my way home, to expect 30 minutes or more, because I always get ‘caught up in conversation,’ ” Busold continued. “Olde Town Arvada has always felt like a small town within a big city. You can’t go down the street without seeing someone you know.”

While the story of the schoolhouse building goes back to 1882, the restaurant’s history is a bit more recent. Spears, who also owns Scrumptious in Olde Town, was looking to build o the sweet shop’s success and believed he found the perfect location.

“We purchased the building, as it is one of the most amazing and historic buildings in Arvada,” Spears said. “ e location of it is amazing, and it really felt like a hub of town. We had a lot of success with Scrumptious in Olde Town and wanted to keep helping the community grow.”

Zaslow said neither measure costs taxpayers but could likely save lives in the long term. HB 1002 tries to cut the disparities between standard physical health and mental health bene ts. e measure would ensure private health insurance carriers are not denying coverage for medically necessary mental health and substance abuse services that a healthcare provider has prescribed and that should be covered under the patient’s health plan, according to the legislation.

Advocates point to a report by health policy consultants Milliman that says that more than 75 percent of Coloradans with commercial insurance who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition have not received the care they need over the past year.

ere is still a “stigma” surrounding mental health and an associated reluctance among most insurers to cover its treatment, Zaslow said.

The school building was built in 1882, pictured here not too far after.

COURTESY ARVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Excited Je co residents tour future library

JCPL to renovate commercial building, open new branch in late 2027

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As Je erson County residents toured the 64,000-square-foot commercial building at 11100 Bradford Road, they happily envisioned rows and rows of bookshelves, dedicated spaces for children and teens, and quiet reading areas with large windows.

It was easy to see the current o ces becoming study rooms or podcasting spaces, or the current conference room becoming a reservable meeting room. But, when it came to the giant truck bays with 30-foot-tall ceilings, people suggested turning them into indoor play areas, basketball courts and other large-scale amenities.

Whatever the exact layout would look like, Je co residents were thrilled to see inside the building that would become their newest library branch. e only thing attendees said they were upset about is that it’d

a

South County Library site, said she was excited to have a new JCPL branch so close to her home. She said it would be easy for her family to bike or even walk to the location.

“We needed a library in this community,” she said.

Among other features, she hoped the new branch would have a café, indoor and outdoor play areas for children, and reading areas with lots of natural light.

Michael and Sharon Schaubs, who also live within walking distance, felt similarly.

ey were disappointed

time frequenting the library.

A library in the making

More than a decade ago, JCPL o cials had identi ed South Je co’s Ken Caryl area as an underserved community. When its 2015 mill levy passed, some of the funds went toward establishing a new branch in the area. is South County Library building will serve about 60,000 people in the Ken Caryl and C-470 areas.

e Columbine branch is the next-closest one. It was built to serve about 60,000 people, and it currently serves about 122,000 people, library o cials have described.

e South County Library site is in the middle of an o ce park along Sha er Parkway. It is a proverbial stone’s throw away from a Je co DMV o ce, a post o ce and the Ken Caryl Ranch Metro District o ce. ere are some residential neighborhoods within easy walking distance, and it’s about a mile away from Sha er Elementary School and Ken Caryl Ranch Community Park.

After arriving in the parking lot, visitors walk through the front door to arrive in the lobby.

To the right is a large meeting room, where JCPL had community feedback posters on the wall and other activities during

At center, architect Ryan Wallace gives a tour of the future South County Library building during a Feb. 22 open house. The library and its crews will be renovating the building’s existing o ce space, which is depicted, as well as its meeting rooms, commercial-sized truck bays and parking lot over the next two years.

they’d have to wait two or three years before it fully opened, as the population in the area has grown tremendously and more growth is expected in the coming years.

JCPL o cials have said the library might host pop-up events there in the interim, but exact details were still being determined.

South Je co resident Morgan Vincent and her 1-year-old Orion review public feedback posters during a Feb. 22 open house at the future South County Library building. The library asked the 270 attendees for ideas on how they would like the existing commercial building and surrounding outdoor space to be renovated as a future Je co Public Library branch.

Even so, the Schaubs family was happy to see that the new location has lots of parking and “plenty of space to do anything with.”

Michael even thought the façade already “looks like a library,” with a ag pole and circle drive just outside the front door. Michael, who volunteers at the Columbine branch, cham-

pioned how important libraries are for people of all ages. He said it’s an important resource to “expand your interests,” saying he’s prepared books for readers that span from how to make cosplay to how to sculpt clay miniatures of food.

“All kinds of things you never think about,” he said, describing how much he’s learned from his

To the left of the lobby is a series of o ces and o ce-type communal spaces, with some beer signs still hanging from the

Behind the lobby is a series of doors that leads to two commercial-sized truck bays with

e rst one — the one closer to the lobby — will be part of the library branch. Programming for this space is still being determined, but it will need to be insulated and have heating/cooling systems installed, architect Ryan Wallace explained, among

However, the second truck bay — which is behind the rst — will likely serve as storage. Because of the tall ceilings, JCPL could design the space to be two stories, as there’s already a mezzanine level that Wallace said was behind the rst truck bay’s walls. e only part visible from the truck bay oor was a series of loading doors midway up the wall.

Along with renovating the site, the building also needs general upkeep, such as a new roof and about 30 more parking spaces, o cials have con rmed.

Elise Penington, a JCPL spokesperson, said agency sta members and architects will have more information at the May 15 board of directors meeting. eir presentation will include community feedback from the Feb. 22 open house, she said.

For more information, visit je colibrary.org/south-county.

During

Feb. 22 open house, South Je co residents walk around a commercial-sized truck bay that will become storage for the future South County Library building. About 270 people attended the open house to see their future library branch, which is set to open in late 2027.

PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN

With Affordability an Increasing Problem, More Buyers Consider Condos, But Can You Get a Loan?

Assuming you have good credit and a sufficient income, getting a loan to buy a single family home is not that hard, but when it comes to buying a condominium, the loan may not be possible if the building does not meet some challenging Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guidelines. Most loans are sold to one of those institutions, and they will not buy a condo loan from a lender if the following is true:

 The condo development hasn’t been completed

 Less than half of the units are owner-occupied (for investors)

The condo association you’re looking at may not have any of those problems, but if it has not completed the proper paperwork, it will still not make the list of “warrantable” condos.

money to buy a replacement home, that definitely doesn’t work.

Follow-up on Last Week’s Column

 An individual or company owns more than 10% of the units within the building (including the developer)

 More than 25% of units are delinquent on HOA fees

 If the homeowner’s association is still controlled by the developer

 Commercial space is 35% or more of the building’s total square footage

 There are pending lawsuits against the condo owner’s association

 The deductible for hail damage is greater than 5%

 If there’s central heating, the master policy doesn’t cover the boiler.

Just last Friday one of our broker associates, Kathy Jonke, closed for a condo buyer who had to terminate her first purchase contract because it was discovered just before closing that the hail deductible was 10%. On the condo which closed last Friday, the lender thought the master insurance policy did not cover the boiler, but our inhouse lender, Wendy Renee, got the right person on the phone and was able to verify that the boiler was covered, and the closing took place on time. Such is the life of a strong buyer’s agent and a strong loan officer!

I’m not saying that you can’t get a loan for an unwarrantable condo. It’s just that you can’t get a conventional loan which the lender plans to sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That’s true of all the big banks and big lenders, but small banks and credit unions are often “portfolio lenders,” meaning that they keep their loans in-house instead of selling them. Another option (rarely used) is for the seller to “carry” the loan, which can work for some but not all sellers. If the seller needs the

Another option is to get the mortgage from FHA, which has a Single-Unit Approval (SUA) option whereby they evaluate the loan on a case-by-case basis. FHA loans, however, require an upfront and ongoing purchase mortgage insurance (PMI) premium. Kathy’s buyer was given that option on her first condo purchase where the hail deductible was 10%, but she chose to terminate the contract rather than assume that added expense.

In any condo purchase, the lender will ask the condo association to complete a questionnaire and base its approval on the response. For example, in addition to the criteria mentioned above, the lender will want to know the association’s budget and its reserves.

Loans on non-warrantable condos can also require a larger down payment and carry a higher interest rate to compensate for the added risk. Recent increases in master insurance policy deductibles alone has made a higher percentage of condos non-warrantable, and loans on unwarrantable condos are estimated to equal over 22% of the market now.

If you are considering writing an offer on a condo, make sure your agent and loan officer submit the condo questionnaire immediately and ask questions about warrantability before spending money on inspection and appraisal.

62% of Americans Think a 20% Down Payment Is Required, But It’s the #1 Myth

NerdWallet.com is a trusted resource for consumer information, and, according to its 2025 Home Buyer Report, 62% of Americans believe that a 20% down payment is required to purchase a home. That’s the number one myth that is holding back Americans from pursuing the American dream of home ownership.

In fact, there are many programs, especially for first-time home buyers, which require zero down payment. Here in Colorado, the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) has a website www.WhyWaitBuyToday.com, which describes their programs for both first-time and repeat buyers with 4% down payment assistance (DPA) up to $25,000.

To qualify for DPA, you have to have a credit score of 620 or higher. The deferred DPA takes the form of a second loan with a 30-year term and a zero percent interest rate. It accrues no interest, has no monthly payments, but is due and payable upon sale, refinance or payoff of your first mortgage. Some DPA is provided as a gift and does not have to be repaid.

Since, according to NerdWallet’s report, 33% of non-homeowners say that not having enough money for a down payment is holding them back from buying a home at this time, “this misconception could be stopping them unnecessarily.”

FHA is famous for requiring only a 3.5% down payment, but conventional loans are

available with as little as 3% down payment. Veterans with a “certificate of eligibility” can get a loan with zero percent down payment for a primary residence.

USDA loans with zero percent down are also available for rural properties.

Larger down payments are always better, and can avoid the added expense of purchase mortgage insurance (PMI), but once your equity reaches a certain level, conventional mort-

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gages allow you to eliminate that expense.

FHA loans maintain that expense for the life of the loan, unless your down payment was 11% or higher, in which case you can eliminate that expense once you achieve a certain equity level based on an appraisal.

So, if this myth has been keeping you from pursuing home ownership, give us a call and we will help you achieve your American dream!

One of the articles, “Buyers Need and Deserve Professional Representation, But Here’s Why They Shouldn’t Have to Pay for It,” produced some feedback from readers. One said the percentages I quoted were wrong, and I’m embarrassed to admit that’s true. (Did I really go to MIT?) The numbers, however, were correct as was the logic of my argument, which is supported by the fact that virtually all closings taking place are ones in which the seller is still compensating the agent representing the buyer.

I confirmed that fact with one of the region’s biggest title companies. What that tells us is that sellers want one thing above all else — to sell their property. They have come to realize that they can try to avoid offering any compensation to the agent representing a buyer, but if they’re the only seller taking that stand, buyers will gravitate to other listings. Also, the standard contract to buy and sell real estate has a section in which it is stated what the seller will pay, so sellers are given the opportunity to accept that amount or call the buyer’s bluff and hope they come to terms. Closing data available to title companies suggests that sellers don’t win that argument often or at all.

One reader believes that if the buyer’s agent is paid by the seller, he’s not going to work to get the lowest price for his buyer. That would make sense, but in 22 years of being on both sides of transactions, I have never known a colleague or myself to do anything other than work in the best interests of a buyer he/she represents, not just in getting the lowest price initially, but when it comes to negotiating concessions or a price reduction based on inspection issues or a low appraisal. And when there’s a seller concession, many agents including ours, make sure our commissions are based on the net price.

$189,000

This nicely updated and well-maintained 574square-foot condo is in the Sable Cove subdivision southeast of Aurora’s Town Center. The address is 992 S. Dearborn Way, #7, east of I-225 and north of Mississippi Avenue. The seller, who bought it for a family member, updated everything in this ground level unit. It has luxury vinyl plank flooring throughout, a pantry with slide-out drawers, laundry hookups, and a wood-burning fireplace. There is lots of open lot parking for you and your guests. The HOA dues are only $255 per month and include water, sewer, maintenance, a community center, swimming pool and fitness center. There is a locked storage closet on the front porch, big enough for all your winter gear. Find more information, high-quality pictures and my narrated video walk-through at www.GRElistings.com, then call 303-525-1851 to arrange a private showing.

From fashion truck to eclectic boutique

Mermaid Walking brings unique garments, accessories to Olde Town

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Mermaid Walking Owner Alexandra Larsen has never been afraid of making a statement. She founded Arvada’s newest boutique with a goal of helping others do the same.

ough the storefront in Arvada opened in November, Larsen has been operating Mermaid Walking as a fashion truck for about four years. After a career as an executive director for a professional association for hairstylists, Larsen decided to pursue her passion for fashion full time.

Larsen said her o beat sense of style has helped shape the distinct identity of Mermaid Walking, which o ers clothes and accessories that Larsen sources from the Los Angeles Fashion District.

“I was kind of funky when I was little,” Larsen said. “My mom called me ‘Punky Brewster’ because I never wanted to look like anyone else, and just always paired fun stu together. But the whole sort of idea behind Mermaid Walking is when you put on a new suit jacket, and you just feel like, I could rule the world in this — like, I could do exactly what they said I can’t do, like a mermaid walking.

“So every piece that I have, I want someone to put it on and feel like, ‘I can go defy the odds today, go live big,’ and so the style is kind of eclectic, but it’s all just edgy, fun things that I hope inspire someone,” Larsen continued.

While in college, Larsen read an article in Nylon Magazine that inspired her to change course. e article focused on fashion trucks in New York City, many of which were used by designers and curators who were unable to a ord rent in the city and sought out an alternative way to hawk their wares.

She bought an Airstream trailer o Craigslist and turned it into a mobile boutique, but when COVID hit, she had to regroup. Now, Larsen operates a small bus mobile boutique in addition to the store; the location and dates of which can be found at mermaidwalking.com.

However, Larsen wanted a bit more stability, and as an Arvada resident, when the space between Outside the Box Too! and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opened up, she decided to take it.

“I just wanted a home base to have open all the time,” Larsen said. “So that’s how we got to the storefront. I live here; I walk to work every morning. is is home, there’s great people here, and I’ve always been just super well received.”

When she visits Los Angeles to source the store, Larsen is guided by an overarching philosophy that shapes the store: “Have I seen this somewhere else? Is this unique?”

“You know, especially with e-commerce, if you have a piece that people can just Google and nd online really easily, you’ve got to nd something to set yourself apart,” Larsen said. “So, I de nitely look for unique things that I haven’t seen in any other stores.”

Mermaid Walking opened its doors in November of 2024.

PHOTOS BY RYLEE DUNN

Boutique Owner Alexandra Larsen outside Mermaid Walking.

SEE BOUTIQUE, P5

Mission BBQ rolling in

City OKs plans for national barbecue chain to move in to Ruby Tuesday site

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A new barbecue restaurant will move into a prominent building just outside of Olde Town Arvada, as national chain Mission BBQ takes the old Ruby Tuesday location at 5525 Wadsworth Bypass. Construction for the new restaurant is underway, and a representative for Mission BBQ said the pro-

jected opening was “sometime in July,” though he e project documents, approved by the City of Arvada, show that the renovation will include building a new façade and completing interior renovations for the 5,200-square-foot restaurant. Mission BBQ operates in 21 states and has one location in Colorado Springs. e business’ rst location opened in 2011 in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Ruby Tuesday, another national chain, struggled to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, closing 185 restaurants nationwide and declaring bankruptcy in 2020. ere are two Ruby Tuesdays left in Colorado; one in Denver and one in Pueblo.

BOUTIQUE

Larsen added that she’s been welcomed into the Olde Town business community with open arms from other small business owners, the Olde Town Arvada Business Improvement District and the Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce, since opening up a few months ago.

Her goal for the shop is for it to become a hangout place of sorts for women and girls in the local community.

“I really want this to be like the clubhouse,” Larsen said.

“I want it to be a place where girls come and we hang out

and we share dreams and we work on them together. And I want to host a lot of di erent events and just really build a community around almost a Mermaid Walking movement — just girls supporting girls, and then eventually, you know, maybe open up some other stores, design my own pieces.

“I don’t know,” Larsen continued. “ e world is my oyster.”

Mermaid Walking is located at 5760 Olde Wadsworth Blvd Unit D and is open Mondays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. e shop is closed Tuesdays.

Site plans for the Mission BBQ location in Arvada.

Larsen said her long-term goal for the boutique is for the store to become a local hangout.

PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN

2025

A Colorado Voting Rights Act faces pushback from cities

BY CHAS SISK KUNC

A plan to write a key civil rights measure into Colorado law is running into intense resistance. Opponents say it’s really an attempt to rework how local elections are run.

e federal Voting Rights Act has been used for six decades to ensure the fairness of elections. But some worry the Trump administration will try to do away with it, so they’ve launched a national campaign for VRA protections to be written into state law. Several states have agreed.

BEST OF THE BEST VOTE NOW THROUGH APRIL 15TH

Colorado could become the latest. Senate Bill 25-001 would give voters the right to bring discrimination suits at the state level and extend new protections speci c to the state, including making sure people can vote while in jail and barring discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

“ e right to vote is under attack by a federal administration testing the limits of its power,” said Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat sponsoring the bill. “Generations of brave activists, women, and people of color have fought for the right to vote — and now, it’s our turn. is bill would ensure that in Colorado, no matter your gender, race, or the language you speak, your sacred right to vote is protected.”

e measure has the backing of a wide variety of groups, including the ACLU, the League of Women Voters and Colorado Common Cause.

But many local o cials are worried — including some who say they would ordinarily support voting rights legislation.

“Aurora’s against the voting rights act?” asked Pete Schulte, the city attorney in Aurora. “I have to tell you, when I rst heard city council ... talking about opposing this bill, I was like, “Wait a minute. It’s the Colorado Voting Rights Act.””

“ is does not mirror the federal Voting Rights Act,” he added.

Schulte and other local o cials worry it could open new pathways for people to sue communities over elections. In particular, those suits could come over at-large seats or the timing of elections. Both could be considered discrimina-

tory, if someone suggests they suppress turnout or representation of people of color.

ey also point out that the state constitution gives Colorado communities broad discretion to run elections as they see t. And, they say, cities in Colorado have successfully fended of any claims under the federal VRA that they’re violating voters’ rights.

“To date there have been no successful lawsuits against Colorado municipalities under the federal Voting Rights Act,” Heather Stau er, legislative advocacy manager for the Colorado Municipal League, said at a recent hearing on the proposal. “It’s very clear to us that the intent of this bill is to change speci c voting policies and structures of local government via litigation.”

e VRA’s supporters have tried to reassure cities that they don’t plan to come after them. But they say there should be laws to prevent election o cials from engaging in discrimination.

“We have these federal protections. ey’re nothing new. But they have been eroded,” said Michael Pernick, lawyer for the Legal Defense Fund who has helped draft state voting rights acts.

e measure has so far passed just one committee, in the state Senate. Backers say they hope to resolve local governments’ concerns as it moves through the process.

is story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative. Learn more at https://colabnews.co

according to the legislation.

at often translates to patients who need immediate treatment but don’t get the help they need until much later, Eckhart said.

“ ere are often signi cant delays that can hurt those in need. We need to get them to get care as soon as possible,” Eckhart said.

Cell policies required by 2026

HB1135, which also attracted bipartisan support, would require all school districts to have a policy in place dealing with cell phone during the day by July 2026. e bill does not impose a statewide ban on cell phone use in schools but calls for school districts the create their own locally developed policy regarding cell phone use during school hours in K-12 setting,

“We wanted to take a middle ground on cell phone use,” Zaslow said. “We don’t want an outright ban on their use, but we also don’t want a laissez faire approach to cell phones.”

Only about a third of Colorado’s largest school districts have a cell phone use policy during the school day. Local principals and teachers are then left to come up with their own classroom policies, Eckhart said.

Clear evidence exists that social media use throughout the school day can have negative impacts on youth mental health and wellbeing, Eckhart added.

“It increases forms of anxiety and students who use their phones a lot are less inclined to get into physical activity,” Eckhart said.

And yet, cell phone use is  “...tough pull to resist,” Zaslow said. “But maybe this bill will help us go in the right direction to help kids.”

A plan to put federal protections into state law has encountered resistance from local government’s surprising even some city officials.

Lawmakers want to keep Black history in lesson plans

BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT

Colorado lawmakers are seeking to ensure that Black history is taught in the state’s public schools at a time of escalating e orts by the Trump administration to squash diversity and inclusion in America’s classrooms.

A bill under consideration in the Colorado legislature would require the State Board of Education to adopt academic standards related to Black historical and cultural studies. Academic standards play a key role in what Colorado students learn in school.

e bill, HB25-1149, passed the House Education Committee ursday in an 8-5 vote along party lines, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans voting no. e bill now moves to the House Appropriations Committee.

Bill sponsor Rep. Regina English, a Colorado Springs Democrat, said it is not only an educational need but a moral imperative to teach Black history.

“It is our obligation to make sure we are teaching not only our students, but all students, true history and what that looks like for Black Americans,” English said at a press conference before the bill hearing Feb. 20. “ ere is more to Black people than slavery and oppression. We are inventors, we are entrepreneurs, we are creators, we are educators, we are doctors, we are attorneys, we are judges, and the list goes on and on.”

A publication of

President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders aimed at remaking K-12 education in a conservative image, including by ending federal programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion and seeking to root out “radical indoctrination” in classrooms.

English said the Black history bill is important at a time when “Black voices are threatened with being silenced through executive orders that are coming down from the national level.”

“Colorado can set the example that we will not tolerate that foolishness here in Colorado, and we will not allow people to divide us and divide our students,” she said.

Colorado’s social studies standards were last updated by the State Board of Education in 2022. e standards say social studies lessons must include the experiences and contributions of several diverse groups, including African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous people, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Paci c Islanders, religious minorities and LGBTQ+ people.

Opponents of the bill said the state doesn’t need speci c Black history standards because the current social studies standards already include it.

Priscilla Rahn, a Denver Public Schools teacher who testi ed against the bill, called the proposed Black history standards “redundant.” Rep. Lori Garcia Sander, an Eaton Republican, held up a printed copy of the state’s social studies standards and said, “All of the things I heard people say, ‘ is is what we want, this is what we wish for,’ it is in here.”

Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, a Colorado Springs Republican, said his two children came home from elementary school during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and shared what they learned about Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement.

“ e important aspects are being taught,” Caldwell said, adding that teaching more than that would be “a capacity and time and resource issue.”

Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, pushed back against that argument. ere are other instances of “overlaps” — or topics that are covered more than once — in the state’s academic standards, she said. She wondered what it would hurt for Black his-

tory to be among them.

“I don’t necessarily disagree that Black history has been a part of our curriculum,” Bacon said. “But the things I consistently hear — I only hear about two time periods: slavery and the civil rights movement. e point of this was to talk about comprehensive Black history. … We are a part of the Revolutionary War history. We are a part of the Civil War history.”

e bill, which is also sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Tony Exum, would create an advisory committee of teachers, librarians, historians, Black history experts, and others to recommend standards. It says the standards should feature “factual accounts of the struggles and contributions of Black Americans in all elds of endeavor” and re ect “Black agency and resistance against oppression.”

Parents, educators, and community members testi ed at ursday’s hearing about the importance of teaching students about the contributions of Black Americans.

Anette Bowser, president of the Urban League Young Professionals of Metro Denver, listed several inventions by Black Americans, including the clothes dryer, caller ID, “and even the Super Soaker we love during the summer time.”

Cathy Lees, a Douglas County resident who described herself as a longtime education advocate, referenced a recent debate in the Douglas County School District over an Advanced Placement African American studies course. e school board eventually approved the course after delaying a vote on it because of community concerns.

“Some might call this a victory for educational equity,” Lees said. “I say the damage was done. What message did this send to the white students in Douglas County?

e message was clear — Black history, the Black experience, is up for debate in Douglas County.”

Lees said the bill would help ensure Black history is taught, even though Colorado school districts retain control over the speci cs such as what curriculum and textbooks to use. Supporters and opponents of the bill both noted that there is little accountability for whether school districts follow the standards, espe-

“Colorado can set the example that we will not tolerate that foolishness here in Colorado, and we will not allow people to divide us and divide our students.”

Bill sponsor Rep. Regina English

cially in subjects like social studies.

e State Board of Education reviews each set of academic standards every six years, and it’s scheduled to revisit the social studies standards in 2028. If the bill passes, the State Board would review the Black history standards at the same time.

Reprinted with permission from Chalkbeat, a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

MEET YORK!

York (305479) is a 10-yearold female cat. At the Shelter, she has been a social butterfly, quick to request pets from new human friends and show off her lovely purr and cute nose spots. York still loves playtime and toys of any type!

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Arvada

Students participate in an AP African American history class at East Kentwood High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. in April 2024. A bill under consideration in the Colorado legislature would require the State Board of Education to adopt academic standards related to Black historical and cultural studies. PHOTO BY

When we face struggles, it is easy to fall into a mindset of simple survival. at focus can become all-encompassing and often will prevent us from nding the road to thriving. In those moments, the expanse between “survive” and “thrive” can seem insurmountable.

Four years ago, I was given an opportunity to learn that the chasm between “survive” and “thrive” is only as wide as our mindset. Many of you who have been following Words of Encouragement from the beginning know that my work as a writer started when I was supporting a friend, Shane, who was battling stage-4 colon cancer.

In January 2021, Shane had taken a leave of absence from work to focus on trying to get better. I went to visit him during that leave, and as we sat and talked, he told me that the chemotherapy he was taking was making him so ill that he had decided to focus on the quality of his life, not the quantity.

VOICES

The chasm between striving and thriving

He explained to me that he was stopping chemotherapy and that the remainder of his life span would be measured in weeks. As he told me of this decision, I began to tear up, and as the rst tear fell onto my cheek, he waved his hand in the way that only he could and said, “We are not going to do that; we are going to celebrate.”

With a lifespan remaining that could be

Acounted in hours and pain growing in his body daily, Shane made a very conscious decision. He was not going to simply survive each remaining day; he was going to thrive.

Over the next few weeks, he went to watch movies in theaters that had been rented out exclusively for his extended family, had dinners xed by chefs who came to his house and attended a parade in his honor. He had the opportunity to

talk with friends, spend precious hours with his wife and daughters, and even play in a poker tournament at his house.

It was inspiring to watch and learn from Shane during that time. e experience left me with the con dence to know that thriving is a conscious decision. It is both scary and empowering to recognize this reality.

When we understand that our mindset is the catalyst to thriving, then we are not

able to hide behind our struggle, satis ed with the idea that we made it through another day.

Don’t misunderstand me. Your struggle, my struggle, they are not easy things to navigate, but they are not insurmountable. e only thing that can keep us from thriving is ourselves. Shane demonstrated this in the most di cult situation possible, facing his own mortality.

When we take the time to truly look at the world around us, we will see we have front-row seats to watch insightful, heroic, and authentically brilliant moments in the human experience unfold before us.

Shane’s unwavering commitment to thriving is an example of this and gives me an invaluable reset button for when I nd myself stuck in survival mode. It is my sincere hope that you, too, can learn from this incredible model.

You have got this.

I hope my words encourage you, and that you will share them with those who need support. ank you to everyone who has shared their stories with me so far. I truly appreciate hearing about the valuable ideas you nd in these columns and how you use them to uplift those around you. You can reach me at jim. roome@gmail.com.

Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences.

Colorado Dragon Boast Festival marks milestone

Author’s note: I had the pleasure of working alongside Sonya Ellingboe for many years. Her love of the arts was palpable and it was always inspirational to talk with her about the work that moved her. Since her death on Feb. 22 I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of art and the impact it can have on everyday life. I hope her legacy is that we all appreciate the beauty of creativity and support it however we can.

decade in existence is no small thing for any event, so Colorado Dragon Boat and Denver Film are going all out to celebrate a decade of the annual Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival

“It’s incredible to think that for the past decade, we’ve been bringing Colorado the only all-Asian and Asian American lm festival. We are beyond honored to hold this title and remain committed to continuing this vital work,” wrote Sara Moore, executive director of Colorado Dragon Boat, in an email interview. “It has been an intense labor of love, especially with limited sta ng and resources. But thanks to the dedication of our team and the support of our community, we’ve made it happen.”

ing the art and culture of the AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Paci c Islander) communities, the festival brings a wonderful array of extracurricular activities. is includes receptions, a culinary experience, community conversations, Q&A panels and an Asian marketplace. We visited with Moore and talked about the festival, what to expect and more. Interview edited for brevity and clarity.

and spark meaningful conversations. is year, the theme feels especially timely as we witness history repeating itself in ways we cannot ignore. e only way to truly move forward is to honor and share the stories of our past and to learn from them.

Tell me about this year’s lms?

I can’t contain my excitement about this incredible lineup of lms. If you asked me to pick a favorite, I honestly couldn’t, because they’re all my favorites. Beyond our incredible Film + Receptions and local showcases, we’ve curated a lineup that perfectly embodies this year’s theme.

continue hosting this one-of-a-kind festival, we need our community’s support. By uplifting and sustaining nonpro ts like ours, we can preserve and expand these vital cultural spaces for generations to come.

What do you hope people come away from attending with?

is year’s festival runs from Friday, March 14 through Sunday, March 16 at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver.

In addition to the top-notch local and international lms that center on uplift-

Tell me about this year’s theme? is year’s theme, “Honoring Our Past to Guide Our Future,” holds deep signicance for me, and I hope it resonates powerfully with everyone. One of the things I love most about our themes is that they are broad enough to invite interpretation

What do you wish more people knew about the festival?

I wish more people knew that we are a small nonpro t with just two full-time sta members. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we re ect on the passion and dedication that brought us here. To

I hope everyone leaves this festival feeling the profound connection and love that lm, art and community can cultivate. Now more than ever, we need empathy and togetherness. As Coloradans, we are fortunate to be part of a community that not only embraces diversity but also fosters compassion and curiosity. Our state has long been a place where art and culture thrive, and it is this collective spirit that continues to uplift and unite us.

See the full schedule and purchase tickets at www.dever lm.org.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Jim Roome

Clarke Reader

Property tax notices have

been sent;

here’s what’s new

Hello Je erson County, Hopefully you survived the bitter cold weather that we have recently experienced. e warmer weather appears to be back, and maybe our Colorado spring starts soon.

Property tax statements are out In January, county treasurers mailed out property tax statements to the residents of Colorado. As Je erson County Treasurer, I sent out those statements the week of Jan. 21. ese statements re ect the amount of property taxes that residential and commercial properties owe for 2024 payable in 2025. County treasurers do not set your level of taxes, but we are responsible for the collection of these taxes per state law. is is the busiest time of year for county treasurers around the state. Your property tax notice re ects the recent increases in property taxes which have occurred because of rising property values, tax increases approved by voters, and recent changes in how property taxes are calculated. County treasurers are required to send these notices and work with property owners to oversee the collection of these taxes which are distributed monthly to the counties, cities and special districts which levy these taxes. I encourage you to call me with any questions, and I will work with you to help clarify the process. Some property owners (those with mortgages) pay their property taxes through their monthly payment which is called an escrow. People with no mortgage are responsible for making their payments

READER

Belmar Gets Its Blarney on for St. Patrick’s Day

It’s never too early to start in on the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and Lakewood’s Belmar district is getting things going with Blarney on Belmar, a free family-friendly festival held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. e event will be held at Belmar Plaza, 439 S. Upham St.

Presented by e Alameda Corridor Business Improvement District and Bridge33 Capital, Blarney on Belmar will feature Irish music from e Elders, a much-loved Kansas City Celtic rock band, e MileHighlanders Pipe Band and Denver’s All-Star Irish Session Players. e Reed School of Irish Dance will also be on hand to demonstrate traditional dancing.

Attendees can also shop and dine on some delicious food. Get all the details at https://alamedaconnects.org/2025blarney-on-belmar-schedule/.

Find the Beauty in Everyday Life at SeeSaw Englewood’s SeeSaw Art Gallery, 5 W. Radcli Ave., is kicking o 2025 with its rst exhibition of the year, “Visible/ Invisible,” a group photography exhibition co-curated with artist Christine Nguyen. e show opens on Saturday,

GUEST COLUMN

directly to the county treasurer.

OBITUARIES

BENNINGTON Larry Tilden “Benny” Bennington September 24, 1947 - February 14, 2025

Larry Bennington of Arvada, CO recently passed away after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

e Je erson County Treasurer’s phone number is 303-2718330. My cell phone number is 720-2536785. I ALWAYS return phone calls, and I am happy to speak with you – just call me.

Property tax payment changes

During the COVID pandemic, I worked with the state legislature to temporarily change state law (2020 and 2021) and help taxpayers retain ownership of their homes by allowing multiple payments instead of the standard two payments, and by waiving late interest. It was very successful, especially in Je erson County.

I am again working with a few legislators to revise the current system to again allow multiple payments. A bill is currently being drafted to allow county treasurers to once again take multiple payments to help homeowners to retain their homes. I will be testifying at the legislature in favor of this change.

Investing your money

As Je erson County Treasurer, I am responsible for investing those tax dollars that are not immediately used to pay bills. I am proud to say that in 2024 we earned a record $29,238,560.33 in interest on our investments (unaudited). is money is used to pay for additional projects and services that bene t Je erson County residents.

March 8 and runs through Monday, April 28.

According to provided information, the exhibition “invites viewers to explore the nuanced interplay between perception and reality.” e works on display challenge the viewer and encourage them to look at the world through di erent perspectives. For more information, visit www.seesawgallery.com.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Soccer Mommy at the Ogden Theatre

Sophie Allison (who records under the name Soccer Mommy) has perfected a blend of 90s grunge and indie rock with an appreciation of generational pop gures like Taylor Swift. Over the course of four albums, she’s brought listeners into her world for a moving look at her experiences and challenges. Last year’s “Evergreen,” may well be her best yet, a devastating record that cuts deeper than ever before.

In support of “Evergreen,” Soccer Mommy is coming to the Ogden eatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Monday, March 10. She’ll be joined by alternative singer/songwriter Hana Vu for an evening of indie rock sure to knock your socks o . Get tickets at www.axs.com.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

He was a U.S. Army Veteran and retired Master Sergeant with the Arvada Police Department.

Larry leaves behind a wife of 51 years, children, grandchildren, a great grandchild; along with a sister, brother, extended family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed. Donations to e Arvada Police Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association or the charity of your choice in Larry Bennington’s name.

Jerry DiTullio

BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Denver artist omas “Detour” Evans has planted his artistic footprint all over the Denver metro area, including the Arvada Center. His work creating the mural at the Center’s main gallery for all visitors to see and then displaying the nished product drew rave reviews from the Center’s visitors, said Collin Parson, Director of Galleries and Curator.

“Our visitors loved it,” Parson said via email. “It was an interactive piece that took the art of murals to the next level. Detour is an innovative artist who a few years ago was considered a ‘muralist’ but not as ‘an artist’ who happens to also make murals.”

“I’m proud of him and think he represents the quality and creativity of Colorado arts,” Parson said.

Evans could not be reached for comment.

Described as a painter, muralist and installation artist, Evans served as a Creative in Residence at the Denver Art Museum in the fall of 2017, exploring work that encourages a mixture of traditional art and interactive paintings. He has gained state and national fame for his mural and print creations that celebrate African American history as well as musical, civil rights and sports icons.

What may be Evans’ most acclaimed piece was recently unveiled before international travelers that streamed though Denver International Airport. e airport introduced Evans’ sculpture “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back” in its permanent public art collection in January in the Concourse B expansion area.

“DEN’s participation in the City’s 1% for Public Art program is a point of pride for the airport. Many of the works in our permanent collection loom large in the memories and imaginations of our millions of annual visitors. omas Evans’ work, “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back,” will soon become an iconic xture of the world’s sixth busiest airport, welcoming or bidding farewell to our passengers,” airport CEO Phil Washington said in a news release. “I am so pleased to welcome Evans’ unique and vibrant sculpture to DEN.”

“It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back” was inspired by the idea that life is always in perpetual motion and it’s our luggage that carries the items we hold dear. It was selected by a panel of community representatives, arts and culture professionals, and civic leaders in 2022, the news release states.

“I was super ecstatic to be selected to be a part of the process of adding art to such a vibrant place where millions of travelers pass through during their journey in life,” Detour said in the news release.  e artwork, located on Concourse B East near gate B60, is 26 feet long by 12 feet wide by 8 feet high and suspended from the concourse ceiling. To help build the sculpture, Evans put a call out to the public for personal luggage that had a story behind it. at resulted in 183 donated bags that were incorporated into the nal design, including pieces from Cleo Parker Robinson, Ed Dwight, a ight attendant of 33 years, three DIA employees, as well as from folks with Denver’s ve professional sports teams.

Evans said on his webpage that the exhibit showcases the frenzied nature of modern life. “ e goal is to symbolize the 24/7 nature of both the airport and the journey of life, as well as memorialize the stories and experiences you gain when you travel,” Evans said. Evans said that his fabricators, Demiurge, built a steel armature in six di erent sections that will serve as the backbone of the sculpture. Each piece of luggage will have its own plate extension that will be

RIGHT: Thomas “Detour” Evans works on a mural for the 2021 Black Love Mural Festival at Civic Center Park. PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

LEFT: Thomas “Detour” Evans’ work was featured at the “In Sight On Site: Murals” exhibit at the Arvada Center. COURTESY OF WES MAGYAR

“I was super ecstatic to be selected to be part of the process”

ans wrote on his webpage. .

e mural got statewide and national attention and was featured in e New York Times, the Athletic, the NBA’s social media accounts and several other media outlets, Evans said.

welded onto the armature.   For more information about the backstories of the donated bags and their donors, go to the airport’s arts page which opened for views this month. A time-lapse video of the installation can be found there as well.

e news release points out that the City’s 1% for Public Art Ordinance directs that 1% of any capital improvement project over $1 million undertaken by the city be set aside for the inclusion of art. At DIA, funds are set aside and then site-speci c large-scale public art opportunities across the campus are identi ed. For this speci c project, funding was designated by the Gate Expansion Program’s construction budget. No taxpayer dollars are used for any artwork at DIA. Evans also explores ethnic identities through his African art display “ ey Still Live,” which mixes photography, DNA mapping and African objects, according to the Hu ngton Post. His prints celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., the music icon Prince and soccer legend Pele.

Evans also honored the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets with a mural planted on the side of the building at 1919 E. Colfax Ave. Evans said he only created the mural to replace another that was in disrepair. However, “this mural evolved to be a beacon for the community because of the awesome year that the Denver Nuggets had,” Ev-

Evans drew plenty of local acclaim for his work at the Arvada Center. Evans used sound and interaction to draw patrons into his brightly colored creation at the Arvada Center’s main gallery, said the Arvada Center’s Parson.

Evans was part of a temporary exhibition titled “In Sight On Site: Murals,” Parson said. Working on the site at the Arvada Center as artist schedules allowed, visitors were able to see murals develop over a weekend, a week or even a month, he said. Evans contributed to a temporary exhibit at the Center so it was only displayed for a few months.

“Detour and artists like him use exhibitions like this to test ideas and concepts that otherwise might just be experiments in their studios,” Parson said.

He said that he donated a bag to the DIA exhibit, at Evans’ request. Parson said he was caught o guard by the request but suddenly remembered that his four-year-old daughter, Cora, had left her Kitty Cat purse in the back seat of Parson’s car.

“I knew she’d be momentarily upset, but I also believed she’d understand its signi cance when she was older,” he said.

“So I took the risk,” Parson said. “So far, it’s paid o . She’s forgotten all about the purse, and I can’t wait to take her to see her small but meaningful mark in Denver’s art history.”

Thomas “Detour” Evans

LEFT: Artist Thomas “Detour” Evans stands with his creation at Concourse B at DIA.

RIGHT: Another view of artist Thomas “Detour”

BY SCOTT GILBERT SGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Sonya Ellingboe — a life well lived

Longtime journalist, arts advocate and Littleton community activist dies at 94

Sonya Ellingboe, a longtime Littleton resident and beloved community activist widely known for her decades of writing about arts and culture in Colorado Community Media newspapers, died Feb. 22, 2025, at age 94.

Ellingboe was born Sonya Joyce Watson on July 9, 1930, in Columbus, Ohio, to economics professor Jesse Paul Watson and art instructor Elizabeth Joyce Watson. e little family moved soon after to Pittsburgh, where Ellingboe grew up and began her love of art and reading, in uenced by her parents and “a really super art teacher in high school,” as she recalled in a 2018 biographical interview with Colorado Community Media.

Ellingboe got her bachelor’s degree in visual art from Carleton College in North eld, Minnesota, where she met St. Olaf College student John “Jack” Ellingboe. ey married after she graduated from college and she then lived in Ames, Iowa while her husband got his doctorate in analytical chemistry at Iowa State University and the rst of their children was born.

e young couple wanted to live in Colorado, and Ellingboe recalled how a college connection helped her husband arrange an interview with Littleton’s Marathon Oil operation, where she said the company was “paying salaries in scenery.” ey moved to Littleton in 1956 and lived there except for a couple of years at the Marathon home o ce in

Ohio in the mid-1960s. ey raised their four children in Littleton’s Aberdeen Village neighborhood before divorcing in 1981.

“I had four children in six years, which can tell you pretty well what my life was like,” Ellingboe said of her time as a busy young mother, but from her earliest days in Littleton she began her community engagement by joining the League of Women Voters, going to museums and

classes, and creating pottery in a local studio “to talk to big people.”

Ellingboe’s love of reading was a big part of her life, which she shared with others by working as a librarian in Iowa in the 1950s until her rst child was born in 1955, and later by buying e Book House bookstore in Englewood’s Brookridge shopping center in 1970, then moving the store to a house on Littleton’s Curtice Street near Arapahoe Community College. “I moved it from Brookridge to an old house across from ACC, which had been a dream of mine from when we were in Ames, where there was a woman who had a bookstore in an old house,” she recalled.

Ellingboe operated e Book House until competition from chain stores led her to close the business in 1986. With her lifelong love of books remaining strong, she then returned to work as a librarian, spending the next couple years with Jefferson County’s Columbine Library.

In 1988, Ellingboe began her career as a writer, rst for the Littleton Times and then the Littleton Independent and its sister papers in the Colorado Community Media chain. Her writing career lasted

35 years until her retirement at age 93 in September 2023.

Even after health issues led her to retire, Ellingboe remained active in book clubs and kept a stack of books at hand to read along with e Denver Post, e New York Times and the Littleton Independent. She also continued to attend local artistic performances.

rough her years in Littleton, Ellingboe was active in many community organizations and cultural amenities and played a founding role in some. ey included the League of Women Voters, Bemis Library Fine Arts Committee, Town Hall Arts Center, Littleton Business Chamber, Commission on Human Rights, Littleton Fine Arts Guild, Hudson Gardens and Event Center, Friends of the Library and Museum, Littleton Garden Club and Historic Littleton Inc.

“Most of the time we’ve been here I’ve been involved one way or another with something going on in Littleton … I get nostalgic about old things that get overwhelmed but I think we need to be changing and gaining,” Ellingboe recalled in the 2018 interview.

“I’ve been a joiner, I guess,” she added with her signature bright laugh. “I recommend it.”

Ellingboe’s career as an arts and culture writer was marked by the positivity and encouraging tone of her coverage. “Family is important to me, and so is making art accessible to as many people as possible,” she recalled. “I feel my mission in writing stories isn’t to slam something, but to get people o their sofas to go see it.”

In December 2023, the Littleton City Council approved a Local Historic Landmark Designation for the house on Curtice Street where Ellingboe had her bookstore for many years, and in January 2024 the Littleton Arts and Culture Commission named Ellingboe as the rst-ever recipient of the City of Littleton Arts and Culture Award, with a ceremony honoring her held in March 2024. is year, the Littleton Independent received funding from the city’s Arts and Culture Grant Program to support coverage of arts and culture in Littleton and the south metro area, in honor of Ellingboe.

ELLINGBOE, P14

Sonya Ellingboe speaks to the audience at the Littleton State of the Arts event in 2024 after receiving the inaugural Arts and Culture Award.

PHOTO BY NINA JOSS

SEE

Annie in the Water: New Terrains Brewing Co.

@ 6pm

New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden

The Hails & Never Ending Fall

@ 8pm

Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station, Den‐ver

Fri 3/07

René Moffatt Music: Wheat Ridge Cultural Commission Spring Mixer / Art Sale

@ 5pm

Live @ The Rose - Paradise Theatre @ 6pm / $25

Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Av‐enue, Golden. information@buf falorose.net

Teague Starbuck @ 7pm

Project Prom Program Fashion Show

@ 4:30pm / $25

RuPaul - House of Hidden Meanings (16+ Event) @ 6pm

Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church, 7530 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge

Experiments in Photography: Month of Photography at EDGE @ 6pm Edge Gallery, 6501 West Colfax Av‐enue, Lakewood. edgethegallery@ gmail.com, 303-477-7173

The Arvada Tavern, 5707 Olde Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada

DJ Don P @ 7pm

Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Roma Ransom @ 8pm Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

The Bordas Brothers @ 10pm / $14.95 Club Vinyl, Denver

Sat 3/08

Blarney on Belmar @ 11am

439 S Upham St, 439 South Upham Street, Lakewood. info@belmarcol orado.com, 303-742-1520

Hilton Garden Inn Arvada Denver, 5455 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada. hopeconnectioncommunity@ gmail.com, 303-386-6232

SheWolf @ 7pm

Hi-Dive, 7 S Broadway, Denver

Five8 @ 10pm

Larimer Beer Hall, 2012 Larimer St, Denver

Sun 3/09

Collections @ 4pm

Studio Loft at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 980 14th Street, Denver

Squash @ 5pm

Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Steelo Suave @ 9pm

Larimer Beer Hall, 2012 Larimer St, Denver

Mon 3/10

Pom Pom Squad - The Mirror Ball Tour @ 7pm / $20 Marquis, Denver

Tue 3/11

Tenia Nelson @ 6:30pm Monolith Brewing, 1290 S Broadway, Denver

Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver

One Night of Queen @ 7:30pm

Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver

Neriah @ 8pm

Marquis Theater - Denver, 2009 Larimer Street, Denver

Wed 3/12

Trevor Toms @ 3pm

The Hampton Social - Denver, 2501 16th St, Denver

The Dangerous Summer @ 6:30pm Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Haiden Henderson @ 7pm

Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Ashley Mehta: The Rabbit Hole @ 7pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Vanessa Collier @ 7pm

Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Denver

The Dead & Down @ 7:30pm

Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

Elektric Animals @ 8pm

Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Amid budget crunch, Youth Advisory Council on chopping block

Lawmakers plan to shut down

20-year-old program that promotes youth involvement

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

e Colorado legislature, as part of its e orts to close a budget hole of more than $1 billion, is planning to axe a nearly two-decade program that enlists teenagers from across the state to help draft and o er input on bills.

Shutting down the Colorado Youth Advisory Council would save about $50,000 a year. at’s a relatively paltry amount, but it’s meant to send a message that costs must be trimmed wherever possible.

e cut foreshadows the big, and often painful, line-item reductions the legislature will have to make in the coming weeks.

Sidd Nareddi, who served on COYAC from 2022 to 2024 while he was in high school, said he was heartbroken to hear the program may be discontinued. Now a rst-year student at Brown University, Nareddi said being a member of COYAC was one of the most formative experiences of his high school years.

“It really was a personal development program for me,” he said. “It’s a very empowering process.”

e Colorado Youth Advisory Council was created in 2008 and is composed of 40 junior high and high school students representing each of the state’s 35 Senate districts, as well as the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes. Teens serve two-year terms on the council. e panel is currently supposed to continue

through at least 2028.

In recent years, the panel — known as COYAC — has drafted legislation to require school sta to address students by their chosen name, boost mental health resources in schools, reduce food waste in public schools and get young people involved in environmental justice.

“ at would be a huge mistake,” Sen. Faith Winter, a Broom eld Democrat and a legislative liaison to the council, said of ending the program. “We know that the budget is di cult and we are willing to work with COYAC next year for a very reduced budget outside of having an interim committee.”

Sarah Moss, who directs the program, made an impassioned plea to the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, which is making the decision to disband the program, to keep the initiative alive.

“I love this program and love these students,” she said. “Being their nonpartisan sta er and teaching them the process and government 101 — and ‘Here’s how you make a phone call to a stranger who’s a grown-up’ — has been one of the greatest joys of my professional career. We would very much love for this program to continue in full.”

Moss suggested paring back the council to make it remote-only. at could cut out the legislature’s costs of getting council members to and from the Capitol and putting them up in hotels.

“We would really love to see some kind of opportunity for them to present (to

lawmakers), even if it’s just a teleconference,” she said.

e Executive Committee of the Legislative Council appears resigned to shutting down the program. A bill ending COYAC will have to be drafted and debated before the full legislature before the council is shut down, but the executive committee on Friday preemptively slashed its funding.

Lawmakers plan to spend just $5,000 on the program next scal year, which begins July 1, to ensure students currently on the council can nish their work.

“As a lifelong educator, I believe in doing things for our youth and giving them these opportunities,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, said this week during an executive committee meeting. “ is is tough.”

In an interview with e Colorado Sun, McCluskie said she hopes COYAC could be brought back after a year. But the legislature’s budget problems are only expected to get worse.

e legislative branch plans to cut its budget by 5%, or more than $4 million next year. Suspending as many as a dozen interim committees like the Colorado Youth Advisory Council is part of that effort.

e executive committee is made up of the six top party leaders in the legislature, four Democrats and two Republicans. Both Republicans suggested it was time for the council to go away, regardless of cost.

“With all due respect to students, there are plenty of people who come here and take days to testify and make their voices heard that don’t get (their expenses covered),” House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, told the executive committee.

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, told e Sun the council has become too progressive. Given that it e ectively has the power to introduce bills in the legislature, he feels that advantage is unfair.

“As a matter of policy, I’m not supportive of continuing with funding,” he said during the executive committee meeting.

Winter pointed out that COYAC was founded through legislation brought by a Republican, then-state Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango, and that it has long been a bipartisan initiative. e panel that reviews COYAC’s work is named after the late House Minority Leader Hugh McKean, another Republican.

Winter defended the legislation the council has advanced in recent years as being representative of the Democraticlean of the state.

“ ere is one youth member per Senate district,” she said. “If you look at the makeup of the Senate, it makes sense that COYAC is composed similarly.”

Current and former members of the council said they plan to encourage lawmakers not to shut COYAC down.

ELLINGBOE

FROM PAGE 12

Ellingboe is survived by son John (Page Hartwell) Ellingboe, daughter Kirsten (Al) Orahood, daughter Karen (Peter Krasno ) Ellingboe and son Bruce (Cindy) Ellingboe; half-sister Anne Redmond; four nephews; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

No public memorial service is planned, as family members note their gratitude

for the many celebrations of Ellingboe’s life while she was alive. Memorial donations in Ellingboe’s name may be made to Historic Littleton Inc., P.O. Box 1004, Littleton, CO 80160; historiclittleton@ gmail.com; or to the arts organization of the donor’s choice.

“I hope I’m remembered as someone who encouraged people to participate in what pleases them,” Ellingboe said in the 2018 interview. “Getting involved in your community makes a huge di erence in how your life proceeds.”

She added: “Keep moving — that’s my other advice — as long as possible.”

Bill would create duty to report misconduct at state crime lab

BY SARA WILSON COLORADO NEWSLINE

Colorado lawmakers are running a bipartisan bill to set expectations for reporting misconduct in the state’s crime laboratories, an e ort that comes in the wake of revelations that a former forensic scientist allegedly mishandled thousands

“We are here because of due process and fairness — the idea that if a (Colorado Bureau of Investigations) employee sees data malfeasance going on, they have a duty to report and disclose, so that district attorneys can make a decision whether or not to act and whether it would impact their cases,” said Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta

Republican sponsoring the bill.

He is running the bill alongside Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat, Sen. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican and Sen. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat.

Former CBI scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was charged with 102 felonies in January over allegations that she manipulated DNA test results during her career. Prosecutors worry that over 1,000 cases could have been a ected by dubious evidence she processed.

“We never want to see something like this happen again,” Soper said. “We want to address some of the issues that have occurred here so that we have integrity back in our state lab.”

House Bill 25-1275 would require crime lab employees to report a wrongful action they witness to their supervisor within two weeks. at is de ned in the bill as an act from an employee that is a “gross deviation from the standard operation procedures.” e supervisor would then need to investigate the claim.

e CBI director would need to tell district attorneys about the alleged wrong action in a ected cases, and attorneys would need to notify defendants — and in some cases victims — if there was lab misconduct in their case.

“Right now, there are defendants serving time who have no idea that the evidence used to convict them was handled by a crime lab employee implicated in misconduct. ere are victims who don’t know that the forensic evidence in their case may have been compromised,” Zokaie said.

e bill would also give defendants the ability to return to court if their conviction substantially relied on evidence subject to misconduct. e intent is that it would apply to cases a ected by the Woods scandal.

“All Coloradans have an interest in determining whether Missy Woods’ misconduct caused wrongful convictions,” said Jud Lohnes, a sta attorney with the Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Law School. “ e importance of forensic testing cannot be overstated. A single DNA result can a ect an entire criminal case.”

Sponsors hope to fast-track the bill. It was introduced Feb. 19 and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee but has not been scheduled for a hearing date. is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.

“COYAC is one of the best things I’ve ever done,” said Livi Christiansen, who served on the council from 2020 to 2022 when she was a junior and senior at Poudre High School in Fort Collins. “It absolutely changed my life. I wish that every kid got to do it.”

ting down COYAC.

“ ey can nd the money,” she said. “ ey could be making a di erent choice.”

Christiansen, who at just 19 is in her rst year of law school in California, said the legislature could choose to slash funding for prison beds instead of shut-

e $50,000 appropriated annually to the council pays for an overnight retreat, annual visit to the Capitol, send-o dinner for high school seniors, committee meetings with legislators and for a professional facilitator to run the program. e Colorado legislature is expected to set the state budget in March. is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.

From left, Sen. Lisa Frizell, Rep. Matt Soper and Rep. Yara Zokaie speak about a bill to establish a procedure for misconduct reporting at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 20, 2025, at the Colorado Capitol. PHOTO BY SARA WILSON FOR COLORADO NEWSLINE

Girls’ hockey teams see big wins in inaugural year

10-and-under team takes title in Indiana tournament

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the United States, only about 16% of hockey players are women and girls, according to USA Hockey. But Arvada Hockey Association Executive Director John “Kibby” McKibbon is looking to boost girls’ participation after the success of the program’s inaugural year of elding all-girls teams.

McKibbon has spent 26 years with the AHA, and aside from a one-o team about 12 years ago that had “no commitment,” the 2024-2025 season marked the rst time the program has elded fulltime, all-girls teams.

is year, the program — which has over 600 boys and girls enrolled, in total — saw its 10u and 12u girls teams play a full season, while a 14u tournament team joined those groups at the Girls Irish South Bend Cup Tournament Series at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana from Feb. 21 to 23.

e 10u girls came home with a championship after besting teams from across the country, including the Indy Jr. Fuel and Las Vegas Storm, and the 12u and 14u teams also had strong showings.

McKibbon says he hopes this season is just the start of what will become a sprawling girls hockey program at AHA.

“We’re hoping, eventually, to be able to have full season teams at 10u, 12u, 14u and 16u, and maybe someday have multiple teams at some of those levels, if we can continue to grow this,” McKibbon said.

Recent e orts to grow the women’s game seem to be paying o . e Professional Women’s Hockey League, which had its inaugural season last year, recently hosted a “Takeover Tour” game at Ball Arena that saw 14,000 fans cheer on the Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost, and McKibbon expects next year’s Winter Olympics to further bolster interest in the women’s game.

“I talked to a couple of Canadian guys this weekend (at the Notre Dame tournament) and in Canada, they have more girls starting hockey than they have boys,” he said. “And we’re typically not far behind the hockey world when it comes to (these) trends.”

McKibbon says playing on all-girls teams allows players to develop their skills in a di erent environment than they would on a co-ed team.

“ e bene ts there are — well, there’s, there’s so many,” McKibbon said. “Just being in a locker room with other females and building a team that is together for a whole season, I’ve just seen so much growth in these young ladies this year by having so much time with other female athletes. It’s been pretty rewarding.”

For many of the older girls (most of whom play on co-ed teams during the regular season), the tournament was their rst chance to play on an all-girls team. “I didn’t have to try and t in, try to be ‘one of the guys,’ ” Tamara Hansen, a 14u player who usually plays on a co-ed team. “I was just myself. (On an all-girls team) you get to show a di erent side of you. It’s more fun. It’s easier to bond with girls if you’re a girl.”

Hansen said a number of challenges stem from having co-ed teams, aside from the social element. Girls have to change in a separate locker room than the boys; because the boys get priority, girls are relegated to small auxiliary locker rooms or even equipment closets. at also cuts down on team bonding opportunities post game, she added.

One of Hansen’s teammates, Allie Lindberg, said the tournament presented new opportunities on and o the ice.

“My favorite part of the tournament was obviously playing hockey, but I also loved spending time with my teammates,” Lindberg said. “It is so much fun to hang out with the girls on this team, and I will miss them a lot.”

Although the 14u team didn’t have the chance to play on an all-girls team throughout the regular season, McKibbon said their mentorship of the program’s younger players has been vital to the organization.

“ ose older ladies in our program have been great mentors and great athletes for our other girls to look up to,” he said. “My hat’s o to them, and I really appreciate them. I feel some guilt, to be honest with you, that we haven’t been able to have a full season (for the 14u girls team).

“But their legacy, and the fact that they stayed with it and played the game, and we were able to get some girls-only programming, hopefully was acceptable,” McKibbon continued.

e sport traditionally has had a high barrier of entry because of the expense of ice time and gear. AHA o ers assistance with gear for kids just trying hockey, and the Colorado Avalanche’s Mile High Mites program has had a good deal of success with getting kids involved.

McKibbon says the organization has had to get creative, as its home rink, the Apex Center, has just two ice sheets, and nding times for all of the club’s programs is tricky. He believes it’s worth the e ort.

“More girls should play hockey so that this team can be an option for all of us,” Lindberg said. “ is year we were supposed to have an all-girls season team but there weren’t enough (girls), so it was a tournament team. If more girls play, we can make this team year-round so that everybody can experience being on a team like this.”

Addie Jade Brooker, who plays for AHA’s 14u team, said she also hopes more girls play so that there are more opportunities for everyone.

“It’s fun, and we need to have more girls teams,” Brooker said.

McKibbon said that while the early morning practices and long travel to games can be di cult, the e ort from parents to make their children’s hockey dreams come true is worth it, and AHA will continue to foster a love for the game in the local community.

“We’ve got a large group of people who are committed to making this program grow and be successful, from coaching sta to volunteers, to parents and notwithstanding our female athletes and especially our older ones, who are really … the leaders in establishing this legacy,” McKibbon said.

The Arvada Hockey Association 10u girls team took home a championship at a recent tournament in South Bend, Indiana.

The 14u girls team only got to play in one tournament as a squad this year but inspired their younger counterparts within the organization. PHOTOS COURTESY ARVADA HOCKEY ASSOCIATION

Disrupting the status quo

As Latin fades in Colorado’s big public high schools, classes thrive in charters

BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT

e students in Amy Rosevear’s Latin class at Cherry Creek High School are reading a poem by the Roman poet Catullus, one written during the rst century B.C.E. in which he’s both feeling sorry for himself and admonishing himself over unrequited love.

With Rosevear’s help, the students translate the ancient words, touching on verb tenses and proper pronunciation but also 21st century connections. When she gets to the phrase “Val puella,” she laughs and tells the class, “You could have translated that on your rst week of Latin.”

“Bye girl!” a student quickly chimes in. e Latin program at Cherry Creek High School, Colorado’s largest high school with more than 3,800 students, is an anomaly in today’s public school landscape. It’s one of about seven Latin programs left in comprehensive districtrun high schools across the state, down from about 17 two decades ago. For Latin educators, the decline is worrisome, representing the loss of lessons that help students understand the classical language and history that still echo in their lives.

Latin o erings will soon dwindle further as two other high schools in the Cherry Creek district — Smoky Hill and Eaglecrest — jettison Latin over the next couple years. Fairview High in the Boulder Valley district still o ers higher level Latin classes, but this year for the rst time doesn’t o er an introductory class. A district spokesman said the school may o er Latin 1 next year if there’s enough student interest. In a bright spot, Doherty High School in the Colorado Springs 11 district will launch a Latin program next school year.

Even as Latin o erings decline in some public schools, the classes are thriving in many charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run. Some charters, including several that feature a classical education model, o er Latin in elementary through high school.

While Latin educators and advocates are pleased to see robust Latin programs in charter schools, they also want to keep the classes alive in traditional public schools, which serve about 85% of Colorado’s public school students. e Colorado Classics Association recently made a promotional video called “You belong in Latin,” to get the word out.

Pierre Habel, a spokesperson for the association, said the idea is to educate school leaders and parents “who have lost contact with Latin’s value,” or who experienced an earlier iteration of Latin

education that involved chanting verb forms and noun declensions — endings that indicate a word’s function in a sentence. Habel retired in 2021 after teaching Latin at the Je co district’s D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School, which still offers a full menu of Latin classes.

Rosevear’s elevator pitch for Latin often highlights its interdisciplinary nature: “ is is not only a language, but it’s also culture and history and mythology and art all combined.”

“I try to emphasize how it really does live on in so many places,” she said. “You’re going to understand American government more if you understand Roman government. You’re going to understand philosophy and religious discussions more if you understand the Latin underpinnings of some of those terms they’re using.”

Students say Latin is ‘equalizing’

Talk to the students in Rosevear’s classes, which range from Latin 1 to AP Latin, and you’ll hear all kinds of reasons for enrolling. Some say singing Latin songs in choir class or studying mythology piqued their interest. Others say Latin helps them excel in other classes, prepare for the SATs, or learn terminology that will come in handy for medical or law careers.

Many simply want to understand the building blocks of the language they use every day.

“It just gives you a really good insight into how so many people speak,” said Eden, a ninth grader who worked with three classmates to translate a story about a Roman family eeing from a rentcollector.

Nyx, a junior who hopes to go into psychiatry, said some of her friends think Latin is a “little dorky,” sometimes saying things like, “Oh, it’s a dead language.” But she doesn’t care. To her, it’s unique and helps her see where words come from, including vocabulary from her language arts class.

“I nd myself blowing through them because I can just dissect them and know the root words and stu from Latin class.” she said. “Like the word amnesty and amnesia, they come from the same root,” which is to forget.

Before class started on a recent day, Noah, a 10th grader, compared favorite Latin words with his classmate Finn, a senior. Noah chose “placenta,” which means cake, and Finn chose “invictus,” which means unconquered and is the name of a famous British poem about fortitude in the face of hardship.

Noah, who’s vice president of the school’s Latin club, said he appreciates Latin because everybody starts on the same footing.

“It’s equalizing,” he said. “No one’s coming in like, ‘I already know Latin.’”

Latin o erings decline over 20 years

Two decades ago, more than a dozen traditional public high schools in the

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state o ered Latin, including ve in Colorado Springs, George Washington High in Denver, Northridge High in Greeley, and Grand Junction High in western Colorado.

Barbara Hill, who used to coordinate Latin programming at the University of Colorado Boulder, said, “When I arrived in the 80s, Latin was thriving and there were [high school] programs all across the state.”

She said there are lots of reasons Latin has been steadily discontinued in some public schools, including the rise of American Sign Language o erings and increasing demand for Spanish, which is attractive to many students because of its prevalence in Colorado and its usefulness in future careers.

Hill said there’s also a misconception among some school leaders that Latin’s an elitist language — a claim that may

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have been true in some classrooms in the past, but not anymore.

“ e teachers have changed with the times, and they realize that a Latin program depends largely upon their ability to connect with and … teach a wide variety of students,” she said.

Rosevear, who started taking Latin in eighth grade in her Fargo, North Dakota junior high school, said another impediment to broader Latin adoption is that the state doesn’t require any world language courses for high school graduation. And while Cherry Creek High School o ers six languages — Latin, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and American Sign Language — the Cherry Creek district, like many in Colorado, also doesn’t require any world language to graduate.

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Cherry Creek High School Latin teacher, Amy Rosevear, center, works with AP Latin students to translate “The Aeneid” by the Roman poet Virgil.

PHOTO BY ANN SCHIMKE FOR CHALKBEAT

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ

1. LITERATURE: Who lives at 4 Privet Drive?

2. TELEVISION: Which 1980s sitcom featured the Keaton family?

3. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the rst American-born president?

4. COMICS: What is Deadpool’s profession?

5. AD SLOGANS: Which makeup company’s slogan is “Maybe she’s born with it”?

6. HISTORY: Which battles marked the beginning of the American Revolution?

7. INVENTIONS: e 1904 World’s Fair introduced which u y confection?

8. MOVIES: In which year were the rst Oscars awarded?

9. MEASUREMENTS: What does 1 gallon of water weigh?

10. GEOGRAPHY: What are the colors of the Italian ag?

TrIVIa

Answers

1. Harry Potter and the Dursley family.

2. “Family Ties.”

3. Martin Van Buren, born after the Revolutionary War.

4. Mercenary.

5. Maybelline.

6. Battles of Lexington and Concord.

7. Cotton candy.

8. 1929.

9. 8.34 pounds.

10. Green, white and red.

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.

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CLASSES

Emphasizing a spoken language

Tim Smith started a recent Latin class at Loveland Classical School with a story about Saint Columba saving his friend from Scotland’s famed Loch Ness monster more than a thousand years ago.

Soon, Smith and his ninth grade students were discussing which form of “mordere,” the verb “to bite,” they should use to describe Nessie’s attack on the friend. Was it one clean bite to the leg?

Or was it taking awhile to chomp through the limb?

As they talked it through, one student murmured, “It’s where we get morsel.”

Smith, who’s one of four Latin teachers at the K-12 charter school’s two campuses, favors a newer approach to Latin education that emphasizes immersion in the spoken language, the same way students might learn Spanish or French.

Smith became a convert about a decade ago when his wife suggested he learn to speak Latin as an everyday language. At rst he told her “ at’s not a thing,” but after researching it, discovered a weeklong Latin immersion expe-

to the construction of another school on Ralston Road. By approximately 1920, the building became a movie theater, a role it maintained until the mid 1950s, through numerous ownership changes.

rience in West Virginia.

“I was con dent that I could say things like, ‘Caesar led an army across the Alps,’” Smith said. “But to ask, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ or ‘How old are you?’ ...

I had never tried to have any kind of casual conversation before.”

e West Virginia trip jump-started his journey to becoming a uent Latin speaker and now he emphasizes speaking in his Latin class as much as reading and writing. Smith also tapes a Latin cooking show on YouTube called Coquamus, or “Let’s Cook.” Recent episodes, lmed with his daughter, who’s a senior at Loveland Classical, feature the

pair cutting up a pineapple — “ananas” — and making a chocolate pie — “scriblita socolata.”

Smith said he realized the impact of his immersion approach to Latin when he saw seventh grade boys trash-talking on the basketball court

“Like, a kid makes a basket, and he’ll shout, ‘Quid est nomen mihi?’” said Hill, laughing. “What’s my name? What’s my name?”

Reprinted with permission from Chalkbeat, a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

A good amount of renovation followed — the previous owner, the Italian restaurant DiCicco’s, only used part for the restaurant for special events, and the upstairs and rooftop had to be completely redone — before the School House could open its doors.

Now, the restaurant has earned a reputation for its innovative takes on traditional American fare along with a sprawling selection of whiskeys — over 2,100 varieties line the barroom wall.

Fittingly, the restaurant celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a party Feb. 15 and a couple of birthday-themed specials: a burger served on a glazed doughnut with American cheese and candied bacon encapsulates the restaurant’s air for the unique, while a birthday cake trie also helped mark the occasion.

“We just feel so lucky that the community has supported us,” Spears said. “We have gone through a ton in the past 10 years … a re, a pandemic, and all kinds of other things, but the community keeps coming and showing us love. We need them to please continue that so we can be here for another 10!”

The hidden history of the schoolhouse

While Spears, Hotaling and Busold are working to create a new legacy at School House, the building the restaurant is housed in contains its own storied history.

Opened in 1882, the oldest remaining school building in Arvada was nanced by a tax that was approved by the school board in 1867, according to “More an Gold: A History of Arvada, Colorado During the Period of 1870 to 1904,” a publication of the Arvada Historical Society. e building continued to serve young students until increasing enrollment led

e building then housed Anderson’s Sporting Goods in the late 1950s and the Covillo-Parker School of Ballet in the early 1960s, according to a 1997 historic building survey.

Over the next 40 years, a number of businesses — including Mr. Mayo’s supply store and the Olde Town Music Hall — occupied the space, but somewhere along the way, the historic façade of the schoolhouse was covered up by a new one.

At that time, the building was leased as two units; one on the corner of Olde Wadsworth Boulevard and 57th Avenue, and one at the “false” façade that covered the old schoolhouse. From historical photos, that appears to be the case when the Olde Town Music Hall was in business.

e history of the building was in danger of being forgotten.

After a few failed business ventures, the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority purchased the schoolhouse building in 2001 and spent $1.5 million on renovating the building. In the process of that, they uncovered a piece of the town’s past.

“When AURA began removing the façade, they realized there was a second façade with a gaping hole above a doorway where a cornerstone should have been,” Carrie Briscoe, AURA’s deputy director, said. “It was quickly realized that it was the town’s original 1882 schoolhouse and that the cornerstone was being stored at the Arvada Center with other Arvada artifacts.

“AURA was able to restore the original facade and reunite the cornerstone with its building,” Briscoe continued.

DiCicco’s was the rst business to operate in the renovated building, but only used the schoolhouse portion for special

events. When Spears took over, he set out to honor the building’s history more than previous tenants had.

“Yes,” Spears replied when asked if his vision was always to honor the city’s oldest schoolhouse. “With the work that was done by the city and city partners years before it was DiCicco’s to highlight the original school form, it seemed like a no brainer to keep it going.”

Busold said that sharing the building’s history with patrons is one of his favorite parts of the job.

“Some people might not know that e School House was once an actual school, built in 1882,” Busold said. “My favorite question is when guests ask if the library bar was once the gym. ey can’t believe that the library bar was the entire oneroom school. How times have changed.”

The school room when the space was owned by DiCicco’s. COURTESY VISIT ARVADA