Founder of Seniors4Wellness saw a need after former center closed
Evergreen ve years ago, Vince Ventimiglia decided to step up and ll the void it left behind. Ventimiglia, who’d worked at SRC for 10 years, founded the nonpro t Seniors4Wellness in 2021. He had no idea about the
And I suppose part of it was selfish. Being an older adult myself, I wanted to make sure I had a place to go with friends.”
SRC served foothills-area seniors for 40 years, operating in a building on Highway 73 known
BY JANE REUTER
e Morrison Town Board voted Feb. 4 to do away with its planning commission, and create a non-governmental community action committee. e new committee is intended to be an ear and a voice between the town’s residents and the board on issues of all kinds. Trustees who supported the idea said dissolving the commission will streamline the town’s approval process, and that the seven-member commission — which
istrator — the rst paid position within the organization. Kaup
ness hosts three events a month
nity, including wellness classes, games days and its popular monthly Friday Café. e Friday lunch event, held at Christ the King church, regularly draws 75
he said. “We’ve got a healthy board of directors and we just keep expanding.” at included the November 2023 addition of well-known Evergreen resident Janice Kaup as the group’s program admin-
SPECIAL DISTRICT ELECTIONS SET P2 CHILDREN THRIVE IN HIGH LIFE P14
roughout 2024, over 700 guests attended 34 of the organization’s events.
“We’re really proud of the things we’ve accomplished,” President Mary Tribby said. “It’s
P9
Residents to vote on fire, emergency services, parks candidates
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Special district elections are set for May 6 in Je erson County, and that could bring some change to foothills-area boards. Here’s a quick rundown:
Conifer Fire
e new Conifer Fire Protection District, along with Elk Creek and Evergreen re, all have seats up for election. ree terms are also expiring on the Evergreen Park and Recreation District board. All four boards have major decisions ahead as their districts face growth and change. ree seats are up for election on the newly formed Conifer Fire Protection District, a merger of North Fork and InterCanyon re districts. When the boards merged, Inter-Canyon Fire directors Natalie Arnett and Ginny Riley joined the Conifer Fire board, and former North Fork
Fire board members Jim Mann and Lisa Benevento voluntarily resigned to form a new ve-person board.
Because former Inter-Canyon members Arnett and Riley were appointed, they must seek election in May. e seat currently held by board member Steve Brown is also up for election. Brown, Arnett and Riley all plan to run for their Conifer Fire seats again, Chief Curt Rogers con rmed.
North Fork and Inter-Canyon Fire merged as the Conifer Fire Protection District in late 2024.
e uni cation originally called for the inclusion of Elk Creek Fire, but its addition to Conifer Fire is on hold pending the outcome of an appeal.
Chiefs of the three agencies announced last year they would pursue uni cation, a process outlined under state statute, after a November 2023 consolidation e ort failed. Uni cation does not include a mill levy increase or require an election.
All three boards passed motions in favor of uni cation, but in Elk Creek, board member Chuck Newby and district resident Neil Whitehead III led an appeal. It says the uni cation process Elk Creek used violates state statute, subverts the
voters’ wishes, and could result in higher taxes without voter approval.
Je erson County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the appeal, but a date has not been set.
Elk Creek Fire
On the Elk Creek Fire board, board president Greg Pixley and director Melissa Baker are term limited and will step down, leaving two seats open.
Elk Creek has undergone controversy in the last few years with director Newby acting as an outspoken opponent of both consolidation and uni cation.
Elk Creek Fire’s chief and current board are moving forward with plans for eventual uni cation, even as they prepare for the public hearing on its appeal.
Evergreen Fire/Rescue ree EFR seats are up for election in 2025, including positions now occupied by board president Stacey Ballinger, and directors John Putt and Julie Ann Courim. None have yet con rmed whether they will seek re-election.
EFR is implementing a master plan that calls for major changes, which last year included the addition of the agency’s rst
AI tool may be just what the doctor
BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
Dr. Daniel Kortsch is a pretty popular guy these days in the hallways of Denver Health, the hospital where he works in primary care.
Colleagues come up to him for spontaneous hugs. He’s received at least one box of chocolates.
e reason for this a ection has to do with Kortsch’s other job at the hospital — as chief medical information o cer, sort of a guru at the intersection of technology and patient care. After months of testing, Denver Health is now widely rolling out an arti cial intelligence program that helps doctors transcribe conversations with patients and then convert them into notes that can be entered into the hospital’s electronic medical records system.
Sound simple enough? Well, for doctors overburdened with tedious documentation work long after their day at the clinic is over, it is life-changing.
“It’s transformational,” Kortsch said. “I think it is the most transformational technology I have seen in my medical practice, ever.”
Arti cial intelligence has for years now been making its way into patient rooms and medical records in Colorado, whether that is to diagnose tricky conditions or to spot health risks before they emerge. But Denver Health’s use of AI highlights another front: e potential for AI programs to make doctors’ work ow a little less clunky and burdensome.
e program Denver Health uses comes from a company called Nabla, which now counts 50,000 doctors and other medical practitioners across the globe — but mostly in the United States — as adopters. e Nabla program supports 35 languages, and it integrates directly with a hospital’s
six paid re ghters. In 2025, it’s beginning a major renovation of Station 2, and the board is expected to move ahead with combining Stations 1 and 4 into a new structure. at project includes demolishing Station 1 and building a combined station on the site of the former Evergreen Mountain Market.
Evergreen Park & Recreation District ree of the ve seats on the EPRD board are up for election in May. Board president Betsy Hays, Mary McGhee and Peter Eggers all con rmed they will run again for their spots.
e EPRD is in the midst of several major projects, including the addition of a natatorium and a 20,000-squarefoot eldhouse to Buchanan Recreation Center, and redevelopment of Buchanan Park. ose plans are in keeping with the EPRD’s 2023 strategic plan, which also calls for an eventual remodel of Wulf Recreation Center.
Potential candidates for any of the boards must submit a self-nomination and acceptance form by Feb. 28. Forms are available from the designated election o cial for each district. Please check each agency’s website for details.
medical record system.
Because Nabla was developed specically for use in medicine, it is trained not to trip up on complex medical jargon or tongue-twister drug names, in the way that more generic AI transcription services might. If it does make a mistake, users send a note to Nabla informing the company of the goof.
“ e point is really to focus on patients, not the clinical notes,” said Delphine Groll, a Nabla co-founder and the company’s chief operating o cer.
To use the program, doctors simply click a button and then talk with their patients naturally while the program works in the background. For privacy reasons, the program does not keep a recording of the conversation, and the transcript it creates is quickly deleted.
At the end, the program produces a summary of the visit for the doctor to review. If the doctor gives the OK, those notes get entered into the hospital’s records system — looking very much like the kinds of notes on visits that doctors have long entered into patient records.
But what used to take several minutes per patient now takes a few seconds. e result, Kortsch said, is less time working in the clinic after hours to catch up on documentation and less “pajama time,” the term doctors use to describe the hours at home at night spent on digital paperwork.
“It makes everything slightly easier and slightly better,” Kortsch said.
At Denver Health’s Montbello Family Health Center, physician assistant Jessica Wallace said she typically sees 10 to 12 patients during every half-day shift. at comes out to about 15 minutes per patient.
“ e demand in terms of what we’re expected to do within primary care have increased exponentially over time, and our patients have become a lot more complicated,” she said.
A patient may come into the clinic not just to address one issue — hypertension, say — but multiple issues at a time — hypertension and diabetes and knee pain. at’s a lot to cover in just a few minutes. Before Nabla, Wallace would walk out of a patient’s room and think to herself whether she had enough time to crank out
notes to enter into the patient’s record before racing to the next appointment. If she didn’t, it meant working late or at home at night.
But now, she said, she has enough time to enter the notes and then go to the bathroom or grab a drink of water.
“It doesn’t solve all that ails primary care,” she said. “It takes away the one stupid thing that nobody loved doing andnally makes it easier.”
Kortsch said Denver Health has mainly presented Nabla to its medical providers as a wellness initiative — a way to help ease burnout due to the digital paperwork of an electronic medical records system. And in that sense, it appears to be succeeding. e hospital has a little over 500 medical providers using Nabla. In an earlier pilot project, Kortsch said the hospital saw a 42% reduction in manual typing by those using Nabla. A survey found that 83% of providers using Nabla said the program has increased their desire to continue seeing patients. But there have been other bene ts, as well. Kortsch said Nabla has been “budget neutral” for Denver Health — meaning it has allowed doctors to see more patients, which has o set the cost of the program. And patients, who are informed about the use of Nabla before each visit, also appear to like it.
Denver Health’s patient satisfaction scores have improved for providers using Nabla. One reason for that, Kortsch said, is that use of the program has appeared to increase eye contact between doctors and patients.
In other words, physicians are turning their eyes away from the computers where they had previously typed furiously during visits and turned them toward the people they are actually treating.
“ e only di erence you’ll notice,” Kortsch said, “is that your doctor looks at you more.”
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.
I took a class recently in which I learned to use a tool for searching public records in the same way that agents can search the MLS, using criteria that even the MLS doesn’t have. Now, if you can’t find a home for sale that meets your needs, we know how to conduct a search of all homes using those same criteria and reach out to the home owners to see if they would sell to you.
whether the home is owner occupied or a rental, and other criteria, including:
Deck
Swimming Pool
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
By the way, this tool is only available to agents who are Realtors — that is, members of the local and national Realtor association. Only about half of Colorado’s licensed real estate agents are Realtors.
Here’s how it works. Although not always up-to-date because of homeowners who did not get permits for certain improvements to their homes, the public records do contain extensive information that can be searched using this tool.
We can search not only for style, square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms and lot size, but also for finished or unfinished basements,
Barn
Workshop
Corner lot or cul-de-sac
Fireplace
Estimated value
The estimated value is not the assessor’s valuation which is often inaccurate and, at any rate, not current. The assessor’s valuation is as of June 30th of the previous even numbered year (2024). This tool’s valuation is based on recent comparable sales from both the MLS and off-MLS transactions.
Last, but definitely not least, we can search for homes that were purchased over 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Owners who purchased their home less than five years ago are least likely to be interested in selling, so we don’t bother.
By the way, this same tool can also be used instead of the MLS itself to search MLS listings using those same search criteria above, many of which are not available on MLS
searches. Also, we can add any other search criteria that is important to you, not just the ones listed above, using a key word search. These can include anything — sauna, walk-in bathtub, or you-name-it (literally).
Another important criterion for any buyer is location. You can specify any area, city or subdivision — or multiple areas and subdivisions.
So, let’s say, hypothetically, that you would like us to solicit owners of two-story homes with Littleton addresses but not in Douglas County that were purchased over 10 years ago. The home must have 3-4 bedrooms and 2 or more bathrooms, and it must have a 3-car garage, a finished basement and a workshop. You will consider homes with a valuation up to $900,000. The house should be not more than 30 years old, and it must be owneroccupied.
Working with those criteria, we come up with an Excel spreadsheet which includes the address and name of the owner. Using a separate app, we could add to the spreadsheet the landline and cell number of each owner .
Using a mail-merge program, we could send individually printed letters in individually printed envelopes saying that we have a
We all know someone who has been scammed. My own sister lost $15,000 to a scammer. Since starting this column/ad in 2003, I have warned readers at least ten times about rental scams, and a few months ago I described how a scammer listed a parcel of land he didn’t own with us, and we only found out that was the case when the title company sent a FedEx letter to the owner of record to verify the transaction before it was “sold” to a neighbor.
In my April 6, 2017, column I wrote about a Golden man whom I met because he wanted to buy a million-dollar property once his “inheritance” arrived from his Nigerian scammer. I couldn’t convince him he was being scammed, and he died penniless and homeless, still clinging to his dream.
You and those you know probably have your own stories about scammers.
Recently I came across of an 8-part podcast by Economist Podcasts called “Scam, Inc.” I strongly recommend listening to it.
(It costs a couple dollars per month to subscribe to all Economist podcasts, but this one is worth every penny by itself, and you can cancel after you’ve listened to it.)
“Pig butchering,” I learned, is a Chinese term. Pork is their most precious meat, and the scam entails finding the “pig” (you), building a pig sty (messaging by text or on WhatsApp), feeding it (building rapport, and eventually guiding the person to invest in crypto), rewarding it (showing phony paper returns on the crypto investment), and ultimately butchering it (taking all your funds before you realize the investment was a hoax). Pig butchering take a lot of time.
It sounds a lot like what Bernie Madoff did, doesn’t it? But this is done by Englishspeaking Southeast Asians, mostly in Myanmar, who find a reason never to betray themselves by speaking to you on the phone, where you would recognize they’re not who they pretend to be.
Sometimes, but not always, these are ro-
mance scams, where the scammer gradually convinces you of their love and provides pictures which are stolen off the internet. The first example in the Scam, Inc. podcast, however, was of a Kansas bank president who was conned into investing his bank’s reserves in crypto by a non-romance scammer who simply appealed to the banker’s desire for self-enrichment. He lost $42 million of the bank’s money. The bank was ultimately forced out of business. No one who knew the president could believe what he had done.
Here’s a bit of advice I learned. Take the picture you received from a possible scammer and go to the search field of Google.com. At the right of that field next to the microphone icon is an icon which says “Search by image” when you float your cursor over it. Click on that icon, drag or upload a picture, and it will instantly show you everywhere that picture appears. I uploaded my own picture and, fortunately, it only showed my own websites.
Again, please listen to the “Scam, Inc.” podcast. You’ll learn a lot you need to know.
buyer who is looking for a home like theirs. We could also call the owners or give you the list and let you call them after you’ve signed a buyer agency agreement with us. (This would require that the home is not listed by another agent, which we can confirm.)
This tool can also be used to search expired listings without the use of lead generation services which often provide faulty or out-ofdate data and don’t verify that the home has not been relisted by another agent.
Although the inventory of homes for sale is much greater than it has been, this tool allows us to open up the whole universe of homes, whether for sale or not, which match your specific desires. If this sounds like something you’d like us to play with on your behalf, call me or any of our broker associates (listed below) and we’ll get to work for you.
My January 13, 2025, column described ways in which homes could be made fireresistant. If you read that article on our blog, http://realestatetoday.substack.com, you saw multiple links to articles and reports from Colorado to California on how to harden you home against wildfire. Since then, I became aware of a website, www.RotaryWildfireReady.com, created by the Rotary Clubs of Evergreen, Conifer, Boulder and Mountain Foothills, in cooperation with fire departments, community leaders and Fire Adapted Colorado. You’ll be impressed, as I was, by how comprehensive this website is, providing a wide array of advice and resources, not just on hardening your home but on preparing for the eventuality of an evacuation order.
The Colorado Environmental Film Festival runs this weekend, Feb. 21-23 at the Green Center, 924 16th Street, Golden, on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines. I wrote about the festival in last week’s column.
You can study the three-day schedule at https://ceff2025.eventive.org/schedule and buy tickets at https://ceff.net/tickets
If you go, look for our booth in the EcoExpo, where you can browse the display of current solar-powered homes and let us know if you’d like to see any of them.
Don’t miss this remodeled two-bedroom, one-bathroom townhome at 3355 S. Flower #59, in the quiet Jefferson Green subdivision northeast of Highway 285 and Kipling Street. Features include new luxury wood-look vinyl flooring throughout the first floor, new lighting fixtures, new stainless steel sink and range. The fully tiled bathroom has a new vanity and lighting. The bedrooms have new carpeting, ceiling fans, and the primary bedroom has a walk-in closet. There are newer windows throughout. The LG washer and dryer are included. Also included is one space in the 2-car shared garage, with a storage area included. A second designated parking spot is in the parking lot. This home is move-in ready! Listing agent David Dlugasch has created a narrated video walk-through which you’ll find along with lots of magazine-quality pictures at www.GRElistings.com. He’ll be holding it open this Saturday, February 22nd, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Or call him at 303-908-4835 to arrange a private showing.
maintained with many quality upgrades, this
$785,000
patio home at 2601 S. Kipling Court is ready for new owners. Located in a private gated community, it is two blocks from Bear Creek Park. The large main level has vaulted ceilings and south facing windows that provide plenty of natural light. The spacious main floor is 1,911 square feet and features an updated kitchen with quartz countertops, gas range and stainless steel appliances. The living room is open to the kitchen and dining areas and has a stacked rock gas fireplace. The large primary bedroom with a 5-piece bath has a sliding door to access the outdoor patio. The main level also includes a second bedroom, a 3/4 guest bathroom and an office space. Quality wood flooring, lighting, handrails and paint add to the cozy ambience. There is a large main-floor laundry with built-in cabinets and utility sink (washer and dryer included). The basement is professionally finished with 9-foot ceilings, family room, bar, pool room (with custom pool table included), a 3rd bedroom and 3rd bath, and a large 350-sq.-ft. storage area. There is a newer furnace and A/C, as well as new garage door and opener. The seller is open to selling any furniture in the home. Find additional photos and view a narrated video walk-through at www.GRElistings.com. To arrange a showing, call listing agent Jim Swanson on his cell phone anytime, 303-929-2929.
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Changes are coming to Morrison’s parking system, as business owners and the town work together on solutions. Merchants say issues tied to paid parking and lack of parking have soured customers, inconvenienced employees and cost them business.
After confronting the town twice about their concerns in public meetings, business owners said the town is taking action to help them.
Changes in the works likely will include a reduction in the paid parking enforcement hours — including a three-month, round-the-clock hiatus during the traditionally slow winter months — the lowering of parking nes and the addition of at least one free parking lot.
Town Manager Mallory Nassau said the board is “sorting through some logistics,” and may vote on an action plan in early March. Because the proposals would require changes to the town’s contract with paid parking vendor Interstate Parking, Nassau said the two entities will need to discuss them. e town is also considering the work needed to convert two parcels into free lots and improving employee parking areas.
While business owners have in the past brought their concerns to the town
individually or in small groups, that’s changed. Hungry Goat owner Krista Gaasvig surveyed the town’s merchants and said they are united on the issues they believe need to be addressed.
“ ere’s no opposition out there,” she said. “Whether people believe in paid parking or not, everybody agreed on these three things.”
e issue hit an emotional boiling point in January when Trustee Paul Sutton responded to restaurateurs’ parking concerns by saying better food would help solve their issues.
While he hasn’t forgotten those comments, Tony Rigatoni’s owner Reza Ardehali said it’s a relief to see progress on issues that have been building for years.
“I think we are all coming together on this,” he said. “We’ve been having these problems for some time and for better or worse, the Town of Morrison sta and town board never were quite as open to us. is time, because of the dire straits we all face economically, I think it has made us allies.”
e town’s own numbers back up the business owners’ concerns.
Morrison’s sales tax revenue dropped from about $2.4 million in 2023 to $1.9 million in 2024, according to town records. During that same time, the town took in almost $300,000 in parking revenue, including parking fees and tickets, according to town documents.
Paid parking is now enforced daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and merchants would like to see the requirement to pay end at 7 p.m. at would give restaurant customers more time to enjoy their meals without worrying about a ticket,
they said.
Additionally, they asked if parking nes could be lowered and the due date extended. A violation is currently $50 and doubles in 10 days for nonpayment.
“If you forget to pay it, $100 is just not palatable,” Gaasvig said. “It makes people say — and I’ve heard it so many times — I’ll never come back to this town.”
e merchants propose the ne drop to $35 and the payment due date extended to 30 days.
While Gaasvig isn’t against paid parking, she’d also like to see it simpli ed. Visitors use a kiosk or scan a QR code to make payments, and that’s confusing and a hassle for many, she said.
“My hosts in the front of the restaurant are now parking liaisons,” she said. “ ey just basically help everybody navigate parking, telling them they need to pay for it, helping them pay for it. Even though it’s a small expense, I think it’s about the experience — nding a parking spot, guring out where do I pay, how do I pay.
“We talked about having a parking kiosk in each restaurant to make it easier for them to pay and having the ability to validate so someone who patronizes a business doesn’t have to pay.”
Collaboration among the business owners has been so smooth, Gaasvig said there’s talk about starting a chamber of commerce. But that remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, business owners said they’re happy to leave any tensions with the board behind and move forward.
“I feel very satis ed with the town’s approach,” Ardehali said. “I thanked them for understanding that our problems
are real, and not imagined. Our meeting was about problem solving and solution seeking rather than pointing ngers. at’s what I’ve always wanted.”
Mayor Pro Tem David Wirtz said he’s on board with the suggestions.
“I support the idea of providing free seasonal parking, changing the parking enforcement time to end at 7 p.m., lowering the amount charged for parking nes and to allow more time for nes to be paid before they are increased,” he said.
But he said he thinks the idea of adding free lots needs more exploration. While some business owners would like to convert a storage lot on the town’s west side into parking, he believes there may be better options. at could include moving town sheds from a ood-prone area along Bear Creek and using that land for a parking lot.
Local property owner Ross Bradley, whose family owns the Morrison Carworks property among others, recently said his company plans to add as many as 30 new paid parking spots there.
“We don’t have any speci cs on that yet, but it’s good to hear other business owners around town are interested in addressing the parking issues as well,” Wirtz said.
Morrison started its paid parking program in 2021, contracting with Interstate Parking for the service. at decision was designed to spark parking turnover, after some business owners who said customers couldn’t nd places to park. e company has similar arrangements in Idaho Springs, Golden and several Colorado ski resort towns.
We know, you need childcare for the summer, we get it. But instead of sending your kids to a boring daycare, check out Evergreen Park & Recreation District Summer Camps. With 16 dif ferent camps to choose from, we have a camp that will interest your child.
Is your child a spor ts nut? Our Summer Spor ts Camp will allow your child to explore many dif ferent spor ts in the span of one week! Soccer, Flag Football, Basketball, Wiffleball and Olympic Spor ts will keep your kid active and engaged while they brush up on old skills and learn plent y of new ones.
Do you have more of a techy kid? We’ve got you covered. Snapology, Talk to the Camera and Chess Camps will challenge and excite your child’s imagination.
or our outdoor lovers we have Lake House and Outdoor Climbing Camps. Raf t building, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and er studies fill the days at Lake House Camp.
Got a gymnast in the family? They will love our Circus, ariet y, Ar tnastics, Gymnastics, Cheer or Diving Camps. ese are four-day camps where your child can join the cus for a week, learn to dive or learn a new cheer outine. Let your child tr y out a new skill!
Our daily Adventure Camp is the go-to Camp for field trips and fun activities ever y day of summer! Each day is action packed and filled with new friends and fun.
t let summer be a drag for your children, bring them to Evergreen Park & Recreation District Summer Camps for an adventurous summer they will never forget. Registration opens March 6!
made recommendations to the sevenmember town board — wasn’t needed in a town as small as Morrison.
Morrison has less than 400 residents, and at least 180 of those are non-voters who live in the town’s Prestige Care Center.
It’s a critical decision in a town on the cusp of major changes. e town last year approved a three-story hotel on its historic main street, and will soon own and be charged with developing 16 acres at its gateway.
e board, sta and town attorney are also working to nish revisions to Morrison’s outdated town code, a change initiated in 2024 after hearings on the Red Hotel revealed con icts between town zoning documents. Trustees say the updated document will more rmly guide the board as it makes future land use decisions. ose updates also make the planning commission’s advisory role on such matters less critical, trustees said.
At least three of the seven commissioners resigned before the board voted to disband their group, and one accused the board of “centralizing power” to the town’s elected o cials.
“Centralizing power among a small group of people on the board will negatively impact the residents,” said Stacey Feehery, adding she strongly opposed the decision and was disappointed the board didn’t consult the commissioners before making it.“Decisions will be made without checks and balances.
“Dismantling a body of government and reducing the number of people who can
help guide the town is a bad decision.”
Trustee John Leonard defended the decision, noting the town will face major land-use decisions as it takes ownership of 16 acres granted to it during the Bandimere annexation. at land is just east of the hogback at the intersection of C470 and Morrison Road.
“Like it or not, the system we had was ine cient,” Leonard said. “Nothing’s been happening in Morrison for a long time. But we’ve got a lot that’s happening now. More people are going to want to do things downtown, and we’ve got the 16 acres.
“For the amount of people we have in town, I don’t think the seven people (of us) that serve on the board is at all too small of a body to oversee it. More importantly, I don’t want us to have power or control. I want to make sure we have everything written; it should be black and white. I don’t want to make the rules. I just want to live by the rules.”
e decision came almost a year after the commission rejected a site development plan for the controversial threestory Red Hotel, a decision developers vehemently protested as going against the town’s own requirements. While many residents still say the hotel is too big for its setting on Morrison’s quaint Bear Creek Avenue, the town board later approved a scaled-down version of it, and developers plan to begin construction of it soon.
“ e way that hotel went down was not a positive impact on the town,” Trustee Adam Way said. “Whether that’s because our rules were byzantine at best, planning commission was not up to par, or the people building the hotel exploited our code or just knew it better than we did, is immaterial.
“ e way things are going, and the liti-
gious society we live in … once we get this (rewrite) done, it’ll just get rid of stu like that. e optics probably aren’t that great. But this is something I think the town needed to do.”
While the Red Hotel came up repeatedly in the board’s discussion about disbanding the commission, Mayor Chris Wolfe said the idea is not new.
“It’s been an issue since I’ve been there, and that 12 years ago,” he said. “Do we really need the planning commission when we have limited amount of people to serve and commit the time to it. e Red Hotel maybe added a fresh new look to it, but we’ve had this discussion for quite a while.”
Planning chair Jamee Chambers, who served on the commission for 30 years, resigned Jan. 22 when she saw the writing on the wall.
“I think the planning commission helped the board,” she said. “We were advisory, but we gathered information and forwarded it to them so they had the best advice they could get.
“But anybody who’s on a commission serves at the pleasure of those who are elected. If they tell you your services are no longer needed, you graciously remove yourself.”
While trustees said they hoped the current planning commissioners would serve on the community action committee, at least three — Chambers, Maja Stefansdottir and Shari Raymond have said they won’t do so.
e board voted 4-2 for the dissolution of the commission, with Trustees Dave Wirtz and Angela Bernhardt opposed. Trustee Paul Sutton was not at the meeting.
“I am against it just because we didn’t talk with the planning commission to get
their opinion,” Wirtz said. “ e decision was made without them. Some of them didn’t even know what was going on.”
Raymond agreed.
“It’s like they stabbed us in the back when we weren’t looking,” she said. “But it’s their decision.
“ e general public is quick to criticize and slow to praise and I don’t want to be one of those that are nothing but critical. Anyone who takes on the burden of running this town has to be thanked profusely.”
Some trustees admitted the process was not perfect.
“Maybe we could have done it better, but the issue came up because we have to get into the meat of the zoning,” Leonard said. “Our zoning was antiquated. We’re trying to create the zoning so we don’t have future problems when we don’t have control of our own town.”
Trustees were full of praise for the seven volunteer commissioners, even as they noted that the town’s code and land use regulations had grown more complex over the years — perhaps too complex for the volunteer commission.
“I’ve really been on the fence with this,” Mayor Wolfe said. “I like the idea of a second set of eyes with the planning commission. And they’ve served us well.
“It’s partly our fault maybe we haven’t trained and educated the planning commission enough. We just let them go by the seat of their pants. And that could be on me and the board. But the board appreciates all they’ve done. It was a dicult choice, it really was.”
Mayor Wolfe said the new committee will be open to business owners as well as residents. ose who are interested in serving can contact the Morrison Town Hall at 303-697-8749.
BY SARAH BODEN KFF HEALTH NEWS
More than 80 domestic cats, among many other types of mammals, have been con rmed to have had bird u since 2022 — generally barn cats that lived on dairy farms, as well as feral cats and pets that spend time outdoors and likely caught it by hunting diseased rodents or wild birds.
Now, a small but growing number of house cats have gotten sick from H5N1, the bird u strain driving the current U.S. outbreak, after eating raw food or drinking unpasteurized milk. Some of those cats died.
e strain of bird u currently circulating has not adapted to e ciently spread among people. And there have been no known cases of cat-to-human transmission during the current outbreak of H5N1.
Still, there’s always been the risk that cats, which are arguably only semi-domesticated, could bring home a disease from a midnight prowl.
“Companion animals, and especially cats, are 100% a public health risk in terms of the risk of zoonotic transmission to people,” said virologist Angela Rasmussen, who studies disease progression in emerging viruses at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.
is is because we snuggle with and sleep in bed with our cats. When we’re not looking, cats drink from our water glasses and walk on kitchen counters. So, cat owners should be aware of the ongoing spread of bird u. “By reducing the risk to your cats, you reduce the risk to yourself,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen doesn’t think pet owners should be afraid their cats will give them bird u but said taking precautions is good for pets, and for public health.
Signs of bird u in cats include runny nose and discharge around the eyes, explained Michael Q. Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
H5N1 also causes neurological problems like dizziness and seizures, which are symptoms of rabies, too. Rabies is almost always fatal, and it poses a threat to human health, so any animal suspected of having the viral disease must be euthanized. Bailey encourages people to ensure pets are up-to-date on their vaccinations.
Veterinarian Jane Sykes, who specializes in infectious diseases in cats and dogs at
the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said people should not assume it’s bird u if their cat is sick — even if their animal spends time outdoors or eats a raw diet. Upper-respiratory illnesses are common in cats, while H5N1 is “still pretty rare.”
Sykes gives her indoor cat, Freckles, regular kibble exclusively. She told NPR and KFF Health News she has no concerns about Freckles getting H5N1 because the heating process of making dry or canned pet food kills viruses.
Some people feed their pets raw meat or unpasteurized milk because they think it’s a more nutritious or natural diet. e
American Veterinary Medical Association’s website discourages this due to foodborne pathogens like salmonella and listeria, and now the highly pathogenic H5N1.
By keeping pets healthy, veterinarians play an essential role in protecting humans from zoonotic diseases. e American Veterinary Medical Association says the risk of H5N1 spilling over from a pet to a person is “considered extremely low, but not zero.”
State and local public health agencies, including those in Los Angeles County and Washington state, have issued similar warnings against raw food diets for pets.
Concerns for human health are partly why the FDA announced last month it is now requiring cat and dog food companies to update their safety plans to protect against bird u. is came after the Oregon Department of Agriculture discovered a cat that was “strictly an indoor cat” had contracted H5N1 and died after consuming a frozen turkey product made by the raw pet food brand Northwest Naturals. It stated that “tests con rmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected cat.”
Northwest Naturals voluntarily recalled that batch of its frozen turkey-based product. e company told KFF Health News and NPR that the recall involved “a small product run” and that it has concerns about the accuracy of the Oregon Agriculture Department’s testing.
Los Angeles County’s public health department said ve cats from two households tested positive for bird u after drinking unpasteurized raw milk from the Raw Farm dairy in California’s Central Valley.
Raw Farm voluntarily recalled its milk and cream after retail products tested positive for H5N1, but it denies any food safety issues, calling the concern “a political issue.”
Veterinarians also warn pet owners not to allow cats unsupervised time outside as there’s the risk of them getting H5N1 by interacting with other animals that might carry the disease.
“ is is a very scary virus, given that it can infect so many di erent host species,” said Bruce Kornreich, director of Cornell University’s Feline Health Center.
At least one instance of a cat infecting a person with bird u occurred in 2016. As NPR reported, a veterinarian in New York City caught the virus after having close contact with infected cats. e vet experienced mild symptoms and quickly recovered.
In that case, the strain of bird u was H7N2, not the H5N1 that is now circulating in the U.S.
H7N2 is a very di erent type of virus, Sykes explained. But she said it shows that cat-to-human transmission of avian in uenza is theoretically possible.
ere isn’t a lot of research on transmission of bird u from companion animals like cats or dogs to humans, though Rasmussen agreed it’s de nitely a concern: e more infections you have in animals, “the more your luck is potentially going to run out.”
Most people who have caught H5N1 are agricultural workers who had direct contact with infected poultry or cattle. Of at least 67 con rmed human cases of H5N1 in the U.S., there’s been one fatality in an immunocompromised person who had contact with birds.
In general, zoonotic disease researchers want more H5N1 surveillance in companion animals of all types. Even if the human death toll of H5N1 remains relatively low, it remains a public health risk.
Chances for mutation
Part of the concern with this H5N1 outbreak is that bird u viruses change. Just a few mutations could make this strain adept at spreading between people. And the more people who catch H5N1, the more likely it would adapt to be more e cient, said Suresh Kuchipudi, a virologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, where he researches zoonotic diseases. Kuchipudi has studied H5N1 in cats. Another concern is something called reassortment. If an animal or person is infected with two viruses at once, the viruses can trade genetic material, creating some-
We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visitwww. canyoncourier.com/calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com to get items in the newspaper. Items will appear in print on a space-available basis.
UPCOMING
“ e Cottage”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 23, Stage Door eatre, 25797 Conifer Road, Conifer. Hilarious farce set in the 1920s English countryside. Tickets at stagedoortheatre.org
PreSchool Adventures: 9 a.m. Feb. 20 and 27, Evergreen Nature Center, 27640 CO-74, Evergreen. Bring your little one for nature exploration. Free, no registration required. evergreenaudubon.org
Connections & Cocktails: 4:30 p.m. Feb. 20, Little Bear, 28075 CO-74, Evergreen. Evergreen Chamber of Commerce networking event for new and seasoned members. evergreenchamber.org.
Wild Aware Meet & Greet: 6 p.m. Feb. 20, Evergreen Brewery, 2962 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen. Meet the Wild Aware crew and make some new friends with other wildlife lovers. info@wildaware.org.
MindFest: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 22, Our Lady of the Pines, 9444 Eagle Cli Road, Conifer. Speakers, resources and activities on mental wellness.
tact Miranda Ziegler, Miranda.Ziegler@jeffco.k12.co.us
Seniors4Wellness Game Day: 12:30 p.m. Feb. 26, Bergen Park Church, 31919 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen.
Evergreen High School’s “Legally Blonde the Musical”: 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28, 1 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. March 1. evergreenhstheatre.org
Morning Birds & Brews: 8:30 a.m. Feb. 28, March 28 and April 25. Evergreen Nature Center, 27640 CO-74, Evergreen. We will spend some time chatting indoors before heading to the meadow to see birds. Free, no registration required. evergreenaudubon.org.
Monthly Saturday Family Program: 11 a.m. Feb. 22, Evergreen Nature Center, 27640 CO-74, Evergreen. Free, no registration required. evergreenaudubon.org
Owl Prowl: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25, Evergreen Nature Center, 27640 CO-74, Evergreen. We’ll start the evening indoors dissecting owl pellets and learning some fun facts before heading outdoors to try and nd one. Registration required. evergreenaudubon. org
Middle School Career Fair: Feb. 25, Evergreen Middle School, 2059 S. Hiwan Drive, Evergreen. Including Evergreen Middle, Dunstan, Bell, and West Je schools. Community members interested in showcasing their careers or companies welcome.Con-
Seniors4Wellness Friday Cafe: 11:30 a.m. Feb. 28, Christ the King Church, 4291 Evergreen Pkwy, Evergreen. seniors4wellness.org.
Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice’s Winter WonderGala: A Frost & Flame Adventure: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 28, Mount Vernon Canyon Club, 24933 Club House Circle, Golden. Dinner, costume contest (frost or ame), live and silent auction, live music and dancing. events@mtevans.org
Sacred Spaces: Monthly events honoring Evergreen’s Sesquicentennial: Noon2p.m. March 1, Evergreen Fire/Rescue, 1602 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. Spotlighting North Evergreen, the Anderson Family and EFR with hosts Jennee Hancock and Pete Anderson. evergreenchamber.org
thing new. is is common in in uenza, so virologists are on the lookout for a case in which the bird u reassorts to make a virus that’s far more contagious, and potentially more virulent.
Virologist Rasmussen is way more worried about this happening in pigs. Human respiratory physiology is more like that of swines than felines. So far, the current outbreak of H5N1 has not reached commercial hog operations. Rasmussen hopes it stays that way.
Kuchipudi said that reassortments are relatively rare events, but the outcome is completely unpredictable. Sometimes the results are benign, though it was likely a reassortment that involved an avian virus that led to the 1918 u pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people. In the century since, virologists have established a global surveillance network to monitor in uenza viruses. Scientists say continued investment in this network is key to preparing for and hopefully preventing another pandemic.
Winter is “reassortment season” because of all the in uenza viruses circulating, Rasmussen said. A reassortment in cats could techni-
Public ice skating and lessons: Evergreen Lake, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. Season and punch passes available. evergreenrecreation.com.
Mountain Women Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): 9 a.m. every Saturday in person and on Zoom, Evergreen Lutheran Church, 5980 CR-73, Evergreen. Mountain Women also meet via Zoom on Wednesdays at noon. evergreenaa.com/
Wild Aware is actively recruiting volunteers for their Last Friday Co ee. e monthly event is at 9 a.m., the last Friday morning of every month through fall. Evergreen Bread and Cocktail Lounge, 1260 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen.
Evergreen Chamber Orchestra Prelude to Spring Concert: 3 p.m. March 1, Rockland Community Church, 17 S. Mt. Vernon Country Club Road, Golden. Featuring the Colorado Symphony’s Concertmaster Yumi Hwang-Williams! Tickets at evergreenchamberorch.org
ONGOING
Evergreen Ice Melt tickets available through March 17: $3 each with discounts for multiple purchases. Purchase tickets or nd local businesses selling tickets at evergreenicemelt.com. Proceeds bene t local organizations and nonpro ts.
Conifer Chamber of Commerce member meeting: 7:30 a.m. on second ursdays, Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church, 9444 Eagle Cli Road, Conifer. Free for members, $10 for non-members.
Evergreen Nature Center Weekly Preschool Adventures Program: 9 a.m. every ursday, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. Free & no registration required. Programs designed for children ages 2-5 years old. All children must have an adult in attendance. Dress to explore the outdoors. evergreenaudubon. org
Evergreen Nature Center Monthly Family Program: 11 a.m. every last Saturday, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. December’s program is Hibernation Station. evergreenaudubon.org
cally be possible since these pets occasionally get seasonal u, but it’s highly unlikely. Rather, Rasmussen said, it’s more likely that a cat would pass H5N1 to a human who already has seasonal u, and then a reassortment happens in the sick person. While the risk isn’t zero, Rasmussen doubts this will happen. It would depend on how ill the human was, and how much virus they’re exposed to from their cat.
“Unless the cat is really shedding a ton of virus, and you’re kind of making out with the cat, I think it would be hard,” she said.
Rasmussen and Kuchipudi caution there isn’t enough research to know for sure how much virus cats shed, or even how they shed the virus.
e Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was poised to release a new study about H5N1 in cats, but that was delayed when the Trump administration paused the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. at investigation, revealed through emails obtained by KFF Health News in a public records request, found that house cats likely got bird u from dairy workers.
Scientists and public health agencies should question previously held assumptions about bird u, Kuchipudi urged. He noted that 20 years ago nobody would have predicted that bird u would infect dairy cattle the way it is now.
e American Legion Evergreen Post 2001: Meets 4 p.m. Feb. 19, then monthly (March - October) on the 4th Tuesday at 7 p.m., Evergreen Church of the Trans guration, Douglas Hall, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. Serving all military Veterans in the foothills. Email evergreenpost2001@gmail.com.
Evergreen Camera Club: Meets every second Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Evergreen Fire/Rescue auditorium, 1802 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. Club is for people who share a passion for all photography, from beginners to professionals. Attend in person or via ZOOM.
Dogs seem to fare better
e FDA says other domesticated animals, including dogs, can get bird u infections. ere are no con rmed cases of H5N1 among dogs in the U.S., though in other countries they have died from the virus.
ere’s some disagreement and an overall lack of research on whether cat biology makes them more susceptible to H5N1 than other mammals, including humans, pigs, or dogs.
But cat behaviors, such as their love of dairy and predation of wild birds, put them at higher risk, Kuchipudi said. Also, living in groups might play a role as there are more feral cat colonies in the U.S. than packs of stray dogs.
ere’s very little people can do about the H5N1 circulating in wild birds. As Rasmussen explained, “It’s ying around in the skies. It’s migrating north and south with the seasons.”
But she said there’s a lot people can do to keep the virus out of their homes.
at includes limiting a pet’s exposure to H5N1 by not feeding them raw food or unpasteurized milk, and trying to keep them from interacting with animals like rodents and wild birds that could be infected with the virus.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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In the article on the INSPIRE program in the Feb. 13 edition, the group’s organizers would like to clarify that while care for participants may cost as much as $20,000, no family pays that much to attend. The charitable foundation Active 4 All provides financial support.
BY LINDSEY TOOMER COLORADO NEWSLINE
e number of Coloradans in jail who voted in the 2024 election soared from previous years after a new law required county clerks to hold a day of in-person voting in every county jail.
Kyle Giddings, deputy director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, said data he has collected from county clerks and the secretary of state’s o ce show that over 2,300 people voted from jail in 2024, compared to 231 voters during the 2022 midterm elections. at includes in-person voting and those who submitted a mail ballot.
“Across the board, everyone really stepped up to the plate and got it done,” Giddings said.
In Colorado, people in custody on pretrial status are eligible to vote, as is anyone serving time for a misdemeanor conviction. People with felony convictions lose their right to vote only while they are serving time for that felony conviction, and they regain their right to vote once their sentence is complete.
A Colorado law passed last year requires county sheri s to designate someone to help eligible voters in jails cast their ballots. e designee is responsible for informing con ned individuals of their eligibility and coordinating with the county clerk to set up a temporary, in-person voting center at their local county jail. e law, Senate Bill 24-72, requires a designee from the clerk’s o ce be present to facilitate in-person voting for six hours on one day.
Voters in jail must also receive information on candidates and measures included on the ballot so they can know who and what they’re voting for.
Je erson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, who is running for secretary of state in 2026, said she’s proud of the turnout her county saw during this election. In the 2022 election, before Gonzalez was clerk, three voters cast a ballot from jail, and in 2024, the county had 348 people vote from jail.
“I want to continue to see this program expand -- I want to see every single eligible voter participate in our democracy -- but I am really proud that we made a signi cant step forward toward that goal during this cycle,” Gonzalez said.
One voter in the Je erson County jails voted for the rst time and hadn’t known he was eligible, Gonzalez said. He told her sta it was “one of the top ve experiences of his life and that it made him feel like he mattered.”
“Of course, every voice matters, but in particular, this is a population of people who are often told that they don’t matter, or because of a mistake that they made, that they shouldn’t have a voice,” Gonzalez said.
e clerk’s o ce also coordinated with the sheri so that sta in the jails reminded people they could be eligible to vote before the day of in-person voting to increase awareness and register voters, Gonzalez said. Je erson County Sheri Reggie Marinelli testi ed against the law when it was going through the Colorado Legislature last year, but Gonzalez said since it passed they worked together to implement it in “a very professional way.”
“We’re really grateful to the sta on her team that really went above and beyond and were great to work with,” Gonzalez said. “ ere are times when we disagree, and that’s OK, and once the law was passed, they were great partners.”
e Je erson County Sheri ’s Ofce said in an email that bringing in the equipment sta from the clerk’s o ce needed to conduct in-person voting was a challenge, as well assigning additional sta to manage security and bring voters in and out. e clerk’s o ce had more than 20 personnel on site, which required “extensive preparation and planning” to ensure a secure environment.
Arapahoe County Elections Director Bill Mast said his county started holding in-person voting in jail in 2022, but the transition to meet the requirements of the new law went smoothly for 2024. He said they anticipated higher interest from incarcerated voters for the presidential election, so the clerk’s o ce held in-person voting over four days in the jail.
“We value this program. We’ve prioritized it for a number of years. We were ecstatic to see this bill go through to kind of reinforce what we were already doing in collaboration with our nonpro t sector partners, and our sheri ’s o ce,” Mast said. “We are just happy that all of our voters have an opportunity to get their voices heard, their ballots cast.”
Mast said 47% of those held in jail in Arapahoe County are residents of other counties, which meant those voters had to use a statewide ballot. Arapahoe County had 128 people vote in-person in jail, which included 60 statewide ballots.
During hearings on SB-72 before the law passed, El Paso County’s sheri and clerk’s o ces testi ed against the bill. Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said that while he had concerns over the -
nancial and operational impact it would have on his o ce, the process in November was “very successful.”
El Paso County went above and beyond the law’s requirements and held two full days of jail voting, which involved two separate in-person voting centers — one for each pod within the jail “to ensure the safety of all,” Schleiker said. Sheri s’ deputies in one pod would escort one voter at a time, while deputies could escort four at a time in the other pod.
In total, 308 people in the roughly 1,800-person capacity jail voted in-person. Schleiker said the incarcerated voters were all kind and appreciative to have the opportunity to vote in-person, though he thought they would see a higher turnout.
“All in all, we feel it went amazingly well without much guidance from the state,” Schleiker said. “We just concentrated on making sure every eligible voter was able to sit there and cast their ballot, and also the safety of all involved.”
Giddings said he wants to nd a way to improve incarcerated voters’ access to their local ballot if they are in custody in a county other than the one they are registered to vote in. In November, if someone was in jail in a county other than their own, they voted on a statewide ballot. Schleiker said this was a challenge in El Paso County as well, because with such a large jail population, many people in custody are from a di erent county or even another state.
Issuing statewide ballots can be complicated, according to Mast, because there is an additional process for verifying the voter’s eligibility. e ballots also have to be mailed to the voter’s home county, which “introduces risk to processes.”
Je co inmates fill out voter registration forms to receive a ballot and place their vote.
Mast said it would be easier if they could just count that ballot in Arapahoe County.
“We know the ballot needs to be counted in a statewide contest -- (it) might as well be counted here,” Mast said. “It’s going to be quicker for results, it’s going to be quicker for the voter to know their ballot was counted, and it’s much simpler for us.”
Developing a clear process and guidelines for bringing people in and out of the voting areas in jails could also be helpful for certain counties, Giddings said.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement that her o ce looks forward to building on the rst year of the jail-based voting program for future elections.
Low jail capacity, low turnout
About 26 counties had nobody cast a ballot from jail, but 17 of those counties don’t have their own jail. Giddings said he isn’t concerned that anything went wrong in counties with no turnout, though, because of how small their jail capacities are. For example, the Crowley County jail only has a 14-person capacity, and it’s possible nobody was in the jail the day the county held in-person voting.
In Elbert County, Clerk and Recorder Rhonda Braun said everyone in custody chose to vote with a mail ballot, though in-person voting was still o ered.
“Our Sheri ’s o ce was incredibly helpful and we worked together to make sure that every eligible incarcerated voter was able to vote,” Braun said in an email. is story is from Colorado Newsline. is story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.
three events a month for a population that is largely isolated, largely lonely and widowed.
“Je Co and Evergreen are graying, and that’s the population we are trying to serve.”
Statistics gathered by the county showed that by the year 2040, about 25% of its population will be over 65 — with almost 10% of those over 80 years.
at means Seniors4Wellness is poised for growth, which makes nding a home critical to its future. It’s also a long-held dream come true for a group that’s been transient since its founding.
“In our own survey, people overwhelmingly told us they want a place to call our own — a place to come together more frequently than three times a month,” Tribby told the Evergreen Park & Recreation District board in her request for space at Buchanan. “Buchanan is bright, it’s cheery, let’s a lot of activity and for people that may be isolated, that’s good to see.”
With a home base in hand, Seniors4Wellness plans to expand its o erings.
“It comes back to healthy aging,” Ventimiglia said. “ at includes not only social but educational, mental, physical, social, nutritional and nancial.”
Seniors4Wellness also recently bought a minivan through a $63,000 grant from the Colorado Gives Foundation. Volunteer drivers can now give non-emergency rides to seniors who need transportation to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store or other activities.
“ e transportation piece is really big for socialization, connectedness and getting people out of their houses,” Kaup said. “If someone says, ‘I’d love to go to game day, but how am I supposed to get there?’, they can call for a ride now.”
Seniors4Wellness also recently received a $25,000 Colorado Gives grant to expand its programs.
With it, they plan to add a series of historical lectures, a computer class and many others, working with EChO, Evergreen Fire/Rescue, the Center for the Arts Evergreen, Mount Evans Home Health Care and Hospice and other groups.
“We don’t want to recreate the wheel, but partner with organizations that are already up and running so we can be very integrated in the community and ll the gaps where other organizations aren’t,” Kaup said. “I see us as being a conduit and a resource for information. We may not be providing all these di erent things, but we know about them.
“It’s all about socialization, connectedness and getting people out of their houses.”
With a grant from the Colorado Gives Foundation, Seniors4Wellness bought a van it uses to give non-emergency rides to seniors.
BY STAVROS KORONEOS
Rock-a-bye riposte
SOUTH JEFFCO – Mrs. McDonald called JCSO to complain about Mr. McGregor. Mrs. McDonald said she’d been walking her dogs on her own property, and she admitted it was not impossible that one of the pups “may have taken a couple of steps into the road.” According to her complaint, Mr. McGregor had rolled down window of his car and yelled at the dog to “get out of here,” and then casually crooned a few bars of a left-handed “lullaby,” the lyrics of which portray Mrs. McDonald as something one might encounter at the bottom of a peat bog. Mrs. McDonald admitted that Mr. McGregor had not addressed her directly, but still believed his behavior constituted harassment. For his part, Mr. McGregor said Mrs. McDonald’s dogs and assorted livestock are constantly getting into the road, as numerous calls and a neighborhoodwide petition to Je co Animal Control amply attest. Mr. McGregor said he yelled at the dog because he didn’t want to run over it, and he didn’t address Mrs. McDonald directly because he never talks to her at all if he can possibly help it. e deputy advised Mr. McGregor to resume that sensible policy, and advised Mrs. McDonald that he would advise Je co Animal Control of the exchange.
arose such a ruckus he sprang from his sheets to kick somebody’s tuckus. e visitors’ voices were mirthful and gay, and he listened as they ed in a loud, glass-pack sleigh. With wondering eyes beneath tassled nightcap, his decorative scheme he saw knocked all to crap. e snowman he’d built in the yard of his home had been toppled full sideways, all tragic and prone. Nearby a great candy cane, so sweet to the eye, had been pushed to the ground and left there to lie. None of the ornaments were damaged, per se, but he wanted the cops to come look, anyway. Deputies dutifully noted his plight, then gave him a case number and wished him good-night.
Warning system ignored
By Clement Clarke Sore CONIFER – ‘Twas nigh midnight on Saturday, the homeowner said, and he’d been comfortably nestled all snug in his bed. en out on the lawn there
EVERGREEN – When her dog started going nuts about midnight on Dec. 22, she gured it was just being a pill. When she left for work on the next morning, she found her garage door – securely closed the night before –halfway open and her car thoroughly “ri ed through.” e only thing missing from the vehicle was the garage door opener, and although the garage contained numerous items of value, none had been taken. She could offer no suspects in the case, but did tell deputies that after the previous snow she’d noticed footprints around the house not her own. O cers advised her to keep her car locked while in the garage and promised extra patrols of the neighborhood while they investigate the case.
Collateral damage
EVERGREEN – Mrs. Uppercrust was so pleased with the small services per-
formed for her by Rita Rabble that she invited Rita and her husband, Reggie, to move into the manor house. Two weeks later, Mrs. Uppercrust was so displeased with the Rabbles as housemates that she demanded they leave forthwith. Not exactly crazy about life at Chateau Uppercrust, the couple bolted, leaving some small personal articles behind. On the afternoon of Dec. 22, the Rabbles returned to the manor intent on retrieving Rita’s prized “rock hammer.” When the implement did not instantly materialize, Rita grabbed a “power drill” from the garage and told Mrs. Uppercrust that she’d hold it “as collateral” for the rock hammer. e way Rita told it to deputies, a violently angry Mrs. Uppercrust gave her a savage, two-handed shove, sending her reeling backward over the estate’s split-rail fence. Mrs. Uppercrust countered that she wasn’t so stupid as to physically attack a woman half her age, and that Rita had essentially thrown herself over the split-rail fence while trying to keep the power drill out of Mrs. Uppercrust’s reach. “She’s quite an actress,” said Mrs. Uppercrust, intending no compliment. Without corroboration of either account, deputies merely advised the Rabbles that they were formally banished from Uppercrust Acres.
Sheri ’s Calls is intended as a humorous take on some of the incident call records of the Je erson County Sheri ’s O ce for the mountain communities. Names and identifying details have been changed, including the writer’s name, which is a pseudonym. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty.
Ten years ago, my wife, Beth, decided that we needed to plant a vegetable garden. Not just a garden; a raised garden. I was nonplussed by the idea; it looked like a ton of work, and I had survived 40-plus years without a garden and seemed to be doing OK.
But I went along with the plan. First, the raised boxes had to be built; then the sprinkler system for the boxes needed to be installed; then the huge (emphasis on huge) pile of super special garden growing dirt needed to be moved from the street to the boxes; and after all of that, we had to purchase the plants, and nally we needed to plant things in speci c places. e tomatoes needed a wall to climb, the zucchini needed room to vine, and each plant needed to be perfectly placed.
e entire process took several weeks of hard work, enduring weather that was either too cold or too hot, which led to more than a few frustrated exclamations. e work was challenging, and throughout it all, I struggled to see a compelling reason for putting in such e ort. While the idea of having fresh vegetables was appealing, I felt that store-bought options were su cient. en we got to August. It was time to
Will nuclear formally be put on the table?
State Sen. Larry Liston, a Republican from El Paso County, has carried a lonely torch during the last two legislative sessions. His bills that proposed to classify nuclear energy as “clean” in Colorado went exactly nowhere.
is year’s nuclear bill has a di erent look. It has four prime sponsors, two of them Democrats. And it comes after warnings about rapidly escalating electrical demand for data centers.
House Bill 25-1040 will get its rst committee hearing on ursday afternoon. It would allow nuclear energy to count toward Colorado’s clean energy goals of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Unlike Liston’s previous bills, it might even get approved. All ve Republicans in the House Energy and Environment Committee will likely support it. e committee chair, Alex Valdez, a Democrat and former solar developer, helped write the bill.
In public testimony, the other seven Democrats will likely be reminded that we have no long-term solution for safeguarding radioactive waste. ey will likely hear that nuclear plants remain extremely expensive. Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant was originally projected to cost $14 billion. It was completed in 2023 at a cost of $36 billion. Other nuclear projects have had similar cost overruns.
harvest the rst crop of cherry tomatoes. As we were out picking those tomatoes, I popped one in my mouth. Everything changed in that moment. at tomato and the hundred or so that followed burst with avor, a tangy richness I had never experienced in any other vegetable. e avor lingered on my taste buds; an explosion I can still taste as I sit here writing. For the next two months we had cherry tomatoes with just about every meal, and I honestly never tired of them. e same rich taste was true of the zucchini, the summer squash, the jalapenos, the basil, and the rest of the crop. In re ection, I saw how right Beth had been and how amazing her vision for what was possible. I could nally see how the work had paid o , how it made a di erence — a delicious di erence. e “work” you are doing, whether to overcome a struggle or to lay plans for your future, is much harder than the work of creating that garden. It will
not always be easy, but you must stay committed to your plan; the payo for the e ort will be an unmatched avor of perfection. It’s a sweetness that will stick with you for years and years to come, and a avor you will never forget.
As you move forward. keep in mind the amazing taste that awaits you; the taste of perfection, the taste of success. Each day you can be another step closer. You have got this.
I hope my words inspire you, and that you will share them with those who need encouragement. 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.
Some Coloradans also remember St. Vrain, the problem-plagued nuclear power plant south of Greeley. It operated from 1976 to 1989. Customers of Public Service Co. of Colorado, now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, paid $1 a month from 1993 until 2016 to cover the $125 million cost of decommissioning the nuclear plant.
Legislators likely are hearing from Xcel’s lobbyists. It has two nuclear plants in Minnesota. e utility announced in October that it has models showing nuclear delivering 1,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity within Colorado by 2035-37. at compares with the 750 megawatts of Comanche 3, the coal- red power plant in Pueblo that Xcel plans to retire before 2031.
A Pueblo task force created by Xcel and some local leaders in early 2024 reported that a nuclear power plant was the best replacement for the jobs and property taxes lost in the transition from coal. Craig, in northwest Colorado, has similarly been hunting for answers to replace jobs and tax base after the last coal plant closes in 2028. Cheerleaders for nuclear usually ignore the costs. All of the technologies that will get us beyond 85% to 90% renewables have the same problem. eir gambles are smaller, though. In Wyoming, Bill Gates has invested in a rst-of-kind small modular liquid-metal fast reactor. If successful, these smaller modular reactors would lower the nancial risks. e downside? Presumably, the tax base for Pueblo would potentially be far less.
orado’s carbon emission reduction goals.” Obviously, he added, conversations must also occur about security and waste.
Liston, a retired investment banker, told me he hopes for nuclear costs mirroring the declined cost of computing. at has a certain irony. e explosive growth of data centers being predicted provides a key argument for taking nuclear seriously. Xcel has told state regulators it projects need 1,923 megawatts of new generation — equivalent ot several coal- red plants — for large customers by 2031, with 70% of that coming from data centers. How real will this demand be? And who bears the risks of investment in new and still expensive technologies?
I caught up with Dylan Roberts at a water conference. If adopted, the bill will “allow nuclear to be part of the conversation about Colorado’s energy future,” he said. “It doesn’t obligate the state nancially in any way. It doesn’t move anything forward as far as permitting or regulations. It would just say that if we get to a point where it becomes nancially viable and a private entity – along with local governments — buy in and they decide they want to pursue this, it would count toward Col-
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A crucial di erence in this year’s bill — to be o ered as an amendment in the committee hearing on ursday — is a requirement that nuclear pay property taxes similar to coal and other energy producers.
Roberts pointed out that France gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. “As far as I know, nobody is scared of going to France,” he said. “ ey have found a way to do it and do it safely and responsibly. I’m not saying it has to be part of Northwest Colorado’s energy portfolio or the state’s portfolio, but at least it can be part of the conversation if a bill like this passes.”
I’m not sure that “love is in the air,” as one columnist concluded. Less-expensive opportunities may arrive in enhanced geothermal, for example. What we do have is sober discussion about the hard work of getting to zero emissions by 2050 while satisfying increased energy demands. at will be harder than closing coal plants by 2030.
Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, which chronicles the energy and water transitions in Colorado. For more on this topic, visit BigPivots.com.
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THE ROTARY CLUB OF EVERGREEN proudly serves our community in many di erent ways. Our programs include legacy programs like the delivery truck we purchased for EChO, to onetime grants to community nonpro ts like Evergreen Fire/Rescue. We target local, national, and even international programs that are fair to all, build goodwill and better friendships, and are bene cial to all concerned. This list highlights some of our projects here in Evergreen in the past 12 months.
• Rotary Wild re Ready
• Hwy 74 Roadway Clean-Up
• Mountain Music Fest
• Seniors4Wellness Holiday Meal
• 4th of July Freedom 5K
• Park benches in Buchanan Park
• A Shade Pavilion at Bergen Elementary’s Outdoor Learning Area
• Bell Ringing for Salvation Army
• Refugee Family Support
• Wild re Relief in California
• Blitz Robotics Club
• 2 AEDs to Evergreen Fire/Rescue
• Imagination Library
• Recycle Day
• Home and Garden ShowApril 12 & 13th
• Mountain Backpacks
• Mindfest
• And SO MUCH MORE
If you’re seeking a way to connect with our community, we invite you to join us on Fridays from 7:15-8 a.m. at Center for the Arts Evergreen. Visit EvergreenRotary.org for details.
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Friday mornings during ski season, a lot of kids in Clear Creek County will wake up before the sunrise to check equipment, snowboards, skis, helmet, goggles and gloves in preparation of hitting the slopes.
After they’re dressed and with a quick breakfast, they wait in Idaho Springs or Georgetown for the school bus to take them to Loveland Ski Area for a day of lessons or just fun with friends.
e program Snow Dodgers has been teaching local kids from kindergarten and up the con dence and skills to ride the mountains on skis or snowboards since 1963, according to board members.
“If they’re good enough, they can just be free-range skiers and do their thing all day,” rst-year Snow Dodgers volunteer Chelsea Dendegna said. “It sets them up with lessons if they need it and just supports them on their journey as skiers or snowboarders.”
Many of the students who started early in the program are now in the sixth grade and riding doubleblack diamond trails at Loveland.
“I’ve learned a lot by watching other people and my family teaching me things, so I’ve improved a lot,” Carlson Elementary sixth-grader Maddie Hinojos said.
A team of volunteers and board members keep Snow Dodgers going each year, piling equipment
into pickup trucks and checking names as kids get on the bus to perpetuate what generations before them had done.
“Everybody works hard to make things come together for a project like this. It’s just a nice community,” Hinojos said.
According to state records, Snow Dodgers is one of the longest-standing ski clubs in Colorado, and many locals can attest to parents and grandparents who learned to ski with its volunteers throughout the years.
Some of the organization’s mottoes on the website clarify goals and motivation: “Take Risks and Reap the Rewards,” “Be Prepared To Experience New Adventures” and “Overcome Your Fears and Master Your Skills.”
e organization’s long-standing relationship with Loveland Ski Area in Dillion is seen as mutually bene cial, according to Loryn Roberson, director of marketing for Loveland Ski Area.
“For Loveland, our community is everything and it’s so important to support these new skiers and riders and give them a space to not only learn but also to enjoy the slopes,” Roberson said.
Snow Dodgers typically runs from the second weekend in January to the second weekend in March.
“Having a program like this in place really allows
them to familiarize themselves with the sport and it really grows the next generation of skiers and riders which is incredibly important to Loveland,” Roberson said.
Opportunities for mountain youth to learn and excel in the sport of skiing and riding don’t end with Snow Dodgers.
High school and middle school programs in Clear Creek County o er hands-on experiences in the manufacture, maintenance and business of the ski industry.
“Creek Craft” is a new name in the ski and snowboarding industry, and Clear Creek County high school students, mentors and teachers aim to make it pro table.
Students in the Clear Creek High School Entrepreneur II class are taking their business education to the next level by creating a sustaining model for manufacturing and marketing, according to Career Connections coordinator Dacia Kelly.
“ e students in this class are learning how to start a business and they’re doing it through a real-world project rather than a hypothetical,” Kelly said.
Meanwhile, outdoor rec and tech instructor Ben Shay at the high school and middle school in Evergreen gives students the hands-on experience of building a board or skis starting with plywood, laminate and an idea.
“It gives kids an outlet to do creative work with their hands and bring something to fruition. I like to tell the story, ‘Kids used to go home and give their mom a wooden spoon they made in wood shop.’ Now they get to show up with their own pair of skis or snowboard,” Shay said.
Several rec and tech students were eager to show o their one-of-a-kind creations they made just for themselves when the Courant visited the class in November. e art of creating a board or ski is dependent on the individual creating it; thick or thin tails and tips, shaping and tapering you create your custom ride with graphics you’ve designed, 11th-grade student Johannathan Scott said.
“It’s really a surreal kind of feeling when you get to make something that you’re going to use.., it’s just a really good feeling,” Scott added.
Another advantage to the rec and tech program is local students are learning the skills in high-demand at local ski areas and shops, according to both Shay and Roberson.
“It’s such a unique program. ese other communities and these other schools have things like woodshop and home economics; but for our community, the thing we all live and breathe is skiing. So, to be able to modify it and have this program that allows them to learn that skill set is invaluable,” Roberson said.
“ ey learn a lot of the woodworking skills here that they would in a wood shop, but then they get something that they actually get to strap on their feet, go to Snow Dodgers, ride the hill and say, ‘Look, I made this,’” Shay said.
The pinnacle of skiing skills: Alpine Rescue
Based in Evergreen, Alpine Rescue is an all-volunteer, mountain search-and-rescue team that’s been operating, free of charge, for more than 60 years.
Alpine Rescue is one of 13 Colorado teams accredited by the Mountain Rescue Association in technical rock rescue, wilderness search, avalanche rescue and winter technical rescue, according to its website.
“In the last few months we’ve had some pretty intense rescues and our pick of the rst to go in are usually pretty tough skiers and they have had to go miles in
sometimes very deep snow that is not easy to ski in. So, there’s a lot of physical endurance and strength,” Alpine Rescue volunteer and public information o cer Dawn Wilson said.
“To have kids learn how to ski and not just ski but be ‘mountain aware’ is idyllic. I’m jealous of those kids,” Wilson said.
Programs like Snow Dodgers instills early education and muscle memory in kids that are critical to working and playing in the mountains, according to Wilson.
“If those kids grow up and they want to give back to their community and volunteer for re or a mountain rescue team they’ve got that ingrained in their body and soul, they don’t even have to think about it,” Wilson said.
Conifer, Ponderosa girls programs start strong with high numbers, higher goals
BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As girls wrestling continues to sweep the country as the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport, local programs are wasting no time making a splash in Colorado.
Quali ers for the state wrestling tournament at Ball Arena on Feb. 13-15 have been announced, and many schools are sending rst-time representatives on the biggest high school stage.
Ponderosa High School in Parker is in the rst season of its girls wrestling program. In year one, a whopping 19 girls signed up for the team. After a strong season, four quali ed for state.
“We were kind of shocked, because, in your rst year, girls wrestling is a tough sport,” Head Coach Frankie Sanchez said.
County High School.
But now, the Mustangs can proudly wear their own uniforms and have adopted some wrestlers from Lutheran and Legend high schools.
It’s not enough to just be happy to be there, Sanchez said. e girls are hungry as they go into the state competition.
For Sandy, the Mustangs’ senior qualier and commit to Adams State University, it’s about revenge. She lost in last year’s nal. Her determination is rubbing o on the rest of the squad.
“We tell them to not be satis ed,” Sanchez said. “A lot of these girls get satis ed with just being a regional champ or getting down to Ball Arena. But, you know, we try to tell them that, you know, the show is not over yet. You still got a medal to go pick up.”
Conifer High School is also in year one. According to Head Coach Nick Adamson, there has been growing interest in developing a girls team in recent years. Last season, one girl who attended Conifer wrestled for Evergreen.
Now the Lobos have 11 wrestlers.
awesome that we can now have that available for the girls too. I would have been happy with four or ve (girls wrestlers), just out of the gate rst year. So, to get that many was great, and I think we should be well up over 15 to 20 next year.”
Conifer is sending Sierra Nordwald (third at regionals) and Penny Dickinson (third at regionals) to Ball Arena.
ere’s a lot of pride among the teammates as they craft the culture that will shape the program’s foundation.
“Being the inaugural girls team, it’s really a point of pride for them. I think it means a lot to them, even the ones that didn’t necessarily see a lot of individual success or individual accolades throughout the year. I think that’s kind of the feather in their hat is that, ‘I was a part of creating and being a part of that the rst girls program and establishing it hopefully generations to come.’”
e Lobos only have one senior, so Conifer is returning nearly the whole team. is year was a building block, and the wrestlers are eager to return to the mat next season with a better grasp of the sport and higher goals for success.
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“So, we gured we’d maybe have a couple of state quali ers, but having four was pretty good. And then the two regional champions, and then one runner-up, that was pretty exciting.”
e Mustangs quali ed Arianna Sanchez (regional champion), Presley Pearson (regional runner-up), Elizabeth Sandy (regional champion) and Abriella Deitz (regional third-place) to state, each representing four weight classes.
To have that many sign up for the program’s rst year is impressive, but maybe not that big of a surprise, Sanchez said.
Until Ponderosa had its own team, interested girls would wrestle for Douglas
“I got the boys program started a few years ago,” Adamson said. “ is was our fourth season bringing the boys program back. It had been defunct for about ve years prior. So really, over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of interest with individual girls and parents approaching me about when we were going to get a girls team going.”
Before rebooting the boys team, Adamson had been bolstering the youth club in the area, establishing a group of youth wrestlers — boys and girls — who would develop into high school athletes.
“It’s just something that I’ve always felt really strongly about, just what the sport o ers kids in general,” he said. “And it’s
High school girls wrestling is blooming in Colorado, and it’s here to stay.
“Women’s wrestling right now is the fastest-growing sport in high school sports,” Sanchez said. “I mean, it’s huge. e NCAA just announced in January that it was the 91st o cial championship sport for college. So it’s now sanctioned for Division I, Division II and Division III ... is is us building a program we only started in November. So, imagine giving us another six months, or even a year. I think we’re going to be pretty dominating.”
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For years, Joel Newton has watched Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School shrink, not just in size but in opportunity.
His daughters saw electives disappear. Sports teams struggled to nd enough players. Teachers came and went.
As executive director of the Edgewater Collective, Newton has spent the past decade working to strengthen schools in the Je erson articulation area, but the challenges have only grown.
Now, Je co Public Schools is proposing a major restructuring — one that would merge Je erson students into Wheat Ridge High School and Everitt Middle School while repurposing the Je erson building for a career-focused program or part-time Career and Technical Education center.
As a result, Je erson Jr./Sr. High School would close for the 2026-27 school year for construction and planning.
District o cials say the change is necessary to provide students with better academic opportunities, pointing to a boundary study showing that enrollment has steadily declined, from over 700 students at its peak to fewer than 450 projected in the coming years.
Lisa Relou and Claire Takhar, district o cials leading the transition, said Jefferson’s low enrollment makes the school unsustainable.
But for many families, predominantly Latino, working-class and deeply rooted in the neighborhood, the proposal feels like yet another loss.
following year in
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“This news comes as fears connected to immigration raids are deeply impacting this community,” Newton said. “Our schools are a safe space, and the loss of this connection is really hard.”
Newton also pointed to rising home prices and gentrification, which have led higher-income families to opt into schools with more programming options, further driving Jefferson’s decline.
“Jefferson gets a considerable amount of per-pupil funding,” he said. “I’m not convinced the district knows how to help them succeed.”
Takhar acknowledged that the community has called for change for years but said previous efforts haven’t reversed enrollment declines.
“Jefferson Jr./Sr. High has received over $7.8 million in additional dollars over the last decade, including Title I funding to support programming and outcomes,” Takhar said. “Ultimately, these resources haven’t reversed the enrollment declines, and so the patterns have continued.”
School closure by another name
As recently as September 2024, Jeffco Superintendent Tracy Dorland assured the Lakewood City Council there would
BERGEN PARK CHURCH
be no more school closures for at least three years.
But for many students who prefer a comprehensive high school experience, the district’s plan to shutter Jefferson Jr./ Sr. High School for a year and reopen it as a career-focused program feels like a closure in all but name.
“I still feel like it’s ambiguous and confusing because it sounds a lot like closing a school and consolidating it into another one and then figuring out what to do with the building — just said in different ways,”
Board Member Danielle Varda said.
Board Member Erin Kenworthy echoed concerns that the community sees this as a closure, regardless of the district’s framing.
“I know declining enrollment is just a hard reality, and we’ve been dealing with it here in Jeffco for a while,” Kenworthy said. “From the people who’ve reached out to me, what they heard is closure. And they’re still struggling with understanding how two stable elementary schools equals one unstable junior/senior high school.”
District data supports the concern. Lumberg and Edgewater Elementary Schools have stable enrollment and are not at risk for closure, yet nearly half (47%) of families in the Jefferson boundary choose to enroll in other middle or high schools.
That number is alarming for Kenworthy.
“When we look at 47% of students choosing out of our junior/senior high school, we’re looking at an unfortunate victim of the privilege of choice for families,” she said. “So we’re seeing another Title 1 school essentially being abandoned due to community choice. Other small schools across the state have found ways to still offer a comprehensive program, but that requires a lot of innovation and support.”
Community engagement opportunities
Newton said he hopes that the district will use this opportunity to listen to students and redesign the school in terms of opportunities that fit the hopes and dreams of those who plan to attend.
“I want them to listen to students and families who historically haven’t had access to the same opportunities as students at other high schools,” Newton said.
District officials have outlined several engagement opportunities to gather community input before finalizing a plan. The first information session took place on January 28, where district staff presented the draft proposal and fielded questions from families, teachers, and students.
“We have the opportunity to engage with community in a different kind of discussion,” said Takhar. “We did a lot of listening, we did a lot of presenting to try to explain some of the ideas we were bringing forward to the community for
consideration, and then we did a lot of listening.”
A series of co-design sessions are planned for Feb. 11, March 3 and March 31, where community members can share ideas, provide feedback and explore alternative solutions to the district’s proposal.
“These are places to share ideas and come up with solutions,” Takhar said. “We’re going to have chart paper and sticky notes and dots and find ways to have conversations about this draft plan.”
Those needing child care or translation services for the Feb. 11 meeting are asked to RSVP by Feb. 7.
By April 30, district officials plan to recap community feedback and outline next steps. If a final proposal emerges from this process, the board will vote on it in June or August 2025.
While district leaders insist this is an opportunity to reimagine Jefferson’s future, skepticism remains.
Kenworthy urged families to actively participate in the upcoming meetings to ensure their voices are heard.
“For the folks who sent me emails and text messages during the community meeting, I just want to say here that I’ve heard from district staff that they do want to hear solutions and ideas from community members,” Kenworthy said. “You have to show up and participate if you want to be heard.”
Bergen Park Church is a group of regular people who strive to improve ourselves and our community by studying the Bible and sharing our lives with each other. On Sunday mornings you can expect contemporary live music, Children’s Ministry that seeks to love and care for your kids, teaching from the Bible, and a community of real people who are imperfect, but seek to honor God in their lives. We hope to welcome you soon to either our 9:00AM or 10:30AM Sunday service. Search Bergen Park Church on YouTube for Livestream service at 9:00am 31919 Rocky Village Dr. 303-674-5484 info@bergenparkchurch.org / www.BergenParkChurch.org
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH SERVICES
28244 Harebell Lane
Sunday Service & Sunday School: 10 a.m. Wednesday evening: 7p.m: (Zoom only Nov.1st-Mar. 31st.) Visit: www.christianscienceevergreen.com for more information and ZOOM link Reading Room: 4602 Plettner Lane 303-674-5296 OPEN: TUES-SAT 12 p.m.-3 p.m.
CHURCH OF THE HILLS PRESBYTERIAN (USA) Serving the mountain community from the heart of Evergreen Worship 10:00 a.m.
Reverend Richard Aylor
O ce Hours: Tu-Thur 9:00 - 4:00; Fri 9:00 - noon Bu alo Park Road and Hwy 73 www.churchofthehills.com
CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION EPISCOPAL
In-Church: Sunday Communion Quiet Service 8:00 am & with Music 10:15 am 10:15 am only Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86017266569
In-Meadow: 2nd Sunday of the month at 9:30 a.m. --June through September— 27640 Highway 74 – ¼ mile east of downtown Evergreen at the Historic Bell Tower www.transfigurationevergreen.org
CONGREGATION BETH EVERGREEN (SYNAGOGUE) Reconstructionist Synagogue
Rabbi Jamie Arnold www.BethEvergreen.org / (303) 670-4294 2981 Bergen Peak Drive (behind Life Care)
DEER PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Reverend Dr. Knut Heim, pastor, Sunday Worship 10 AM Located one mile west of Pine Junction just o Rt. 285 966 Rim Rock Road, Bailey (303) 838-6759 deerparkumc.org
All are welcome to our open/inclusive congregation!
EVERGREEN LUTHERAN CHURCH
5980 Highway 73 + 303-674-4654
Rev. Terry Schjang
Join us for worship in person or on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EvergreenLutheranChurch
Sunday Worship held at 9am. www.evergreenlutheran.org + All Are Welcome!
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CHURCH – EPC 1036 El Rancho Rd, Evergreen – (303) 526-9287 www.lomcc.org – o ce@lomcc.org
Sunday Worship 10:00 a.m., with communion every Sunday “Real Church In An UnReal World” A community empowered by the Holy Spirit which seeks authentic relationships with God and others to share the good news of Jesus with Evergreen, the Front Range and the world. Come as you are, all are welcome!
PLATTE CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH
Located: 4954 County Road 64 in Bailey. O ce hours MWF 8am-1pm 303-838-4409, Worship & Children’s Church at 10am
Small group studies for all ages at 9am
Transitional Pastor: Mark Chadwick
Youth Pastor: Jay Vonesh
Other activities: Youth groups, Men’s/Women’s ministries, Bible studies, VBS, MOPS, Cub/Boy Scouts.
ROCKLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH
“Connecting all generations to Jesus” Please check our website, www.Rockland.church, for updated service times ¼ mile north of I-70 at exit 254 17 S Mt. Vernon Country Club Rd., Golden, CO 80401 303-526-0668
SHEPHERD OF THE ROCKIES LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod. 106 Rosalie Road, Bailey, CO 303-838-2161 Pastor John Graham Sunday Worship Service; 9 a.m., Fellowship Time; 10:15 a.m., Sunday School & Bible Class; 10:45 a.m. www.shepherdoftherockies.org
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF EVERGREEN Rev. Sarah Clark • 303.674.4810 • www.evergreenumc.org 3757 Ponderosa Dr. across Hwy 74 from Safeway in Evergreen Join us in person every Sunday at 10:00am for worship “Open Hearts, Open Doors, Open Minds”
1. TELEVISION: How many castaways are on “Gilligan’s Island”?
2. GEOGRAPHY: Which Asian nation’s nickname is “Land of the under Dragon”?
3. LITERATURE: What is author J.K. Rowling’s real rst name?
4. SCIENCE: What is a type of material that can’t carry an electrical charge?
5. U.S. STATES: Which state’s nickname is “ e Last Frontier”?
6. MEASUREMENTS: How many quarts are in a half gallon?
7. MOVIES: Which famous landmark is featured in the movie “Rebel Without a Cause”?
8. ANATOMY: What does the cerebellum control in the human brain?
9. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Where is the late Jimmy Carter’s presidential library located?
10. HISTORY: When did the Great Fire of London occur?
Answers 1. Seven.
2. Bhutan.
3. Joanne.
4. An insulator.
5. Alaska.
6. Two.
7. Gri th Observatory.
8. Movement and balance.
9. Atlanta, Georgia.
10. 1666.
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Economic development commission approves $1M grant to boost e orts
BY SARAH MULHOLLAND CPR NEWS
Colorado is upping its stake in developing Estes Park’s Stanley Hotel into a tourist destination for horror lm bu s.
e state’s economic development commission approved a $1 million grant from its strategic fund for the Colorado Education and Cultural Facilities Authority, or CEFCA, the Colorado agency taking over the property. e cash will go toward greasing the wheels for the CECFA to issue $400 million in bonds. e proceeds will be used to transform the iconic hotel, best known as the inspiration for Stephen King’s “ e Shining,” into the Stanley Film Center.
e project, billed as a horror-themed museum and event space, has been in the works for a decade. It was approved for state funding in 2015 under Colorado’s Regional Tourism Act, a state program created in 2009 to attract out-of-state visitors following the recession brought on by the housing crisis. To qualify for funding, projects had to show they were likely to substantially increase visitation to the state.
e lm center has since run into numerous delays and struggled to raise cash.
Owner John Cullen, whose Grand Heri-
tage Hotel Group bought the property out of bankruptcy in the 1990s, announced a deal to sell the property to an Arizona nonpro t in 2023. But that deal fell through.
Now, the CEFCA is stepping in.
“We’ve come a long way in a really dicult market,” Cullen said during a meeting Tuesday with the state’s economic development commission.
On top of the $1 million grant, to be paid out after the bonds are sold, the commission approved the early release of some taxpayer funds already allocated to the lm center from the Regional Tourism Act. e project was awarded up to $46.3
million from state sales tax to be paid out over 30 years.
e commission also extended the deadline for completion to Dec. 31, 2028.
“Since there’ve been some challenges and delays in getting the nancing done, we want to allow the project adequate time to be completed,” Je Kraft, deputy director of Colorado’s O ce of Economic Development and International Trade, said during the meeting.
e CEFCA is a state bonding authority that issues low-cost debt to fund things like schools and museums. It was created by Colorado’s state legislature in 1981.
is is the rst time it’s taking ownership of a property.
Despite its challenges, the Stanley Film Center has had some wins. Horror movie studio Blumhouse has signed on to curate the exhibit space. Last year, the Sundance Film Festival announced a partnership with e Stanley to host its Directors Lab. Colorado is currently courting Sundance to become the new home of its signature lm festival.
is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t public broadcaster serving Colorado. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
BY JOHN RENFROW
How long could you watch your family struggle to survive in the wild before pulling the plug? What if there were $250,000 on the line?
at’s the premise of the new show “Extracted,” which premiered on Fox on Feb. 10 with new episodes being released weekly. Conifer resident Sarah omas will watch her husband, Ryan Willis, battle extremely grueling conditions, perilous terrain and the threat of predators in the Canadian wilderness.
From the stressful safety of the family HQ, omas and other contestants’ relatives will watch with bated breath to determine if and when to remove their loved ones from the situation. Family alliances can be formed to allocate which contestant or contestants get helpful supplies, and who is left to their own devices. e last remaining contestant in the wild will win a quarter of a million dollars.
“Someone from casting reached out to me, and kind of pitched the idea of the show,” omas said. “And so basically, all we knew was that we needed a family group of three, and one of us had to go into the wilderness, and then the other two would be left somewhere else to kind of facilitate supplies for the person in the wilderness. I pitched it to Ryan after I heard about it, and he was like, ‘Heck yeah, that sounds amazing.’ “
e Conifer family (one of 12 selected to be on the show) didn’t have to draw straws; Willis was thrilled to be the one taking on the elements.
Growing up outdoorsy in Colorado, Willis took to the competition with a hungry excitement to test himself and his lim-
its. He explained how he’d always loved survival shows like “Alone” or “Survivorman,” but admitted he didn’t carry any polished survival skills himself.
“Yeah, sweet. I’ll go into the woods,” Willis said on his reaction when omas pitched it to him. “I went out one night and camped without anything to prepare for it. But other than that, no (other training) other than just general camping, you know, in Colorado, stu like that. But the point they wanted was that we didn’t actually know how to do anything.”
omas said despite the contestants having a varying array of skills, it was still a group of 12 amateur survivalists. Some had never slept a day outside before, while others, like Willis, grew up recreationally roughing it in the Rocky Mountains.
But things got real pretty quickly when Willis was picked up in a helicopter, only allowed to bring the clothes on his back; a T-shirt, light hoodie, hat, socks and boots.
He was given a canteen with 12 ounces of water and some camera equipment. at was it … until the rst supply drop hit. at’s where omas, and Willis’ brother, Sean, came in.
“We kind of expected that in the rst day to be able to do a supply drop, but he literally went over 24 hours without any tools, any extra water, nothing for over a day,” omas said. “He was not fazed. He was just hanging out, building a shelter, you know, piling sticks and stu . He was getting ready for the supply drop, but he had a good attitude about it.”
Willis took it in stride, but at the HQ, omas said she was starting to worry.
“We had no idea what to expect from the HQ experience, and so it was super stressful to sit there that whole rst day
and just watch and not be able to do a single thing to help him,” she said. “He would come on camera and be like, ‘Yep, I could really use a re,’ or ‘It’d be really nice to have some tools.’ And we were just kind of stuck without being able to do anything for so long … . Ryan was having the best time of his life, and we were stressed in HQ, wondering when we were going to be able to help him.”
omas said the rst few days were tame, but tensions ared as families had
to decide who got what supplies. “ ere was just that stress of, did you pick correct, or are people going to be mad at us because we got Ryan this amazing supply box, and other people didn’t do as good under pressure and didn’t get as many supplies as we were able to send to Ryan,” omas said.
Catch “Extracted” weekly on Fox and streaming on Hulu to watch Willis battle the elements as his family cheers him on and helps straighten his course.
