Original Rec Center contractor chosen for pool expansion
BY JANE REUTER
e future of Evergreen’s recreation facilities became clearer recently with some key decisions the Evergreen Park & Recreation District board made June 24.
e board voted to move ahead with a eldhouse at Buchanan Park that will be separate — rather than attached to the current recreation center — a decision made based on es-
timates showing much higher costs to build an attached eldhouse.
e board agreed to delay the eldhouse’s construction by a year.
e board unanimously moved to hire Pinkard Construction for pre-construction services on the planned aquatics facility expansion at the Buchanan Recreation Center. at is the rst of a two-part contract that is expected to also include later hiring them as the general
torium.
Pre-construction services will include helping the board nail down nal costs. Lakewoodbased Pinkard, which has built several similar projects in other Colorado communities, built the original Buchanan Recreation Center in 2003.
Current plans show the natatorium opening in 2028, though Pinkard representatives said at this week’s meeting it could make it happen much sooner — in late 2026 or early 2027.
“Part of the reason we chose you was your timelines and your attitude about construc-
New policy goals for public land discussed
Extractive uses in, protection out for federal lands
BY HANK LACEY NEWSLINE COLORADO
e Trump administration’s revised Department of the Interior strategic plan calls for expanded fossil fuel development across federal lands, while omitting any reference to public land sales rst raised in an earlier draft.
tion,” EPRD director Peter Eggtives. “Keeping rec center open, not interfering with the tra c of daily visitors, we appreciate that.”
Additionally, the EPRD board agreed to prioritize the natatorium and Buchanan Park construction over the eldhouse, which could delay the third project by a year. e eldhouse is planned to include court space, a walking track, a recreation studio and o ces.
“I’d rather push it back until we’re well on the way with the park and the pool,”
Required under a 1993 statute and in 2010 amendments to that law, the draft plan outlines high-level goals for the Interior’s management of 480 million acres of federal land, including approximately 24 million acres in Colorado. Language emphasizing a commitment to extraction is particularly stark. In a break from contemporary descriptions of the natural resources under federal management, the Trump administration declared in a proposed introduction to the plan that the department “is the U.S. balance sheet, and natural resources are the country’s assets.”
“ ese lands — rich in energy, minerals, biodiversity, and recreational value — are worth trillions of dollars to current and future generations,” the draft introduction continues.
Chris Winter, executive director of the University of Colorado Law School’s Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment, said the draft plan con rms what many in the environmental community have feared: a shift away from conservation in fa-
A natatorium with a competition-sized swimming pool with as many as eight swimming lanes will be added on the back side of the current Buchanan Recreation Center, according to plans revealed by the Evergreen Park & Recreation District board.
PHOTO BY JANE REUTER
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Proposed short-term rental regulations get first airing
Bear-proof trash cans, septic inspections are part of proposed changes
BY JANE REUTER JANE@COTLN.ORG
A surprisingly small group came to the Je erson County administration building June 24 to hear about planned changes to the county’s short-term rental regulations.
While only about 75 people, two-thirds of them online, attended the meeting, planning supervisor Russell Clark called it a success.
“ e purpose was so people understood what the language meant,” he said. “I think it was a successful meeting from that standpoint.”
Je erson County is in the midst of a signi cant streamlining of its short-term rental regulations, with an eye toward encouraging and gaining much greater compliance from those who have Airbnbs, VRBOs and other short-term rentals.
e county estimates more than 700 STRs operate in unincorporated Je erson County, with less than 50 of those now doing so legally. e county doesn’t plan to go after those who are out of compliance, at least not initially, but instead change its regulations so they’re easier and cheaper to meet.
“I don’t think anyone who’s gone through the process will tell you it’s easy or cheap,” Clark said. “You might get some who’ll tell you it’s terrible. We’re looking to x that.”
e current process requires a public hearing before the county’s board of adjustment and “fairly strict standards to quality,” Clark said, including a lot size of over an acre, and a location within speci c zone districts.
“ en you still have to apply for the permit; it’s a not an insigni cant fee,” he said. “ en it’s only good for six months and you do it again.”
While the second permit is in e ect for a year, the same “long, drawn-out process” must still be repeated annually, Clark said.
“We’re proposing an administrative process with a set of black-and-white criteria,” he said. “If you meet that criteria, you’re approved. e time from submitting documents to approval should only be a few weeks, and we anticipate the fees will be signi cantly reduced because of the reduced amount of sta time it will take.”
No neighborhood involvement
While those fees aren’t set, Clark estimates they will be less than $500. Additionally, he said, applicants need only meet the criteria, so there would be “no neighborhood involvement” in obtaining a permit.
pretty quick response as well. Fires would also get a pretty quick response.”
While it would allow short-term rentals in townhomes, duplexes and accessory dwelling units, it also proposes limiting the number of STRs allowed to no more than 1% of total housing units in each re protection district, or a 750-foot minimum separation between investment properties.
ose who live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association will also be required to notify the HOA in advance and testify to the county that the use has been approved.
e planned changes also include a county ordinance that would give Je Co authority to regulate STRs and increase nes for non-compliance. Additionally, Je co would use an STR software company called Host Compliance to help the county identify short-term rentals and compliance rates, and provide a 24/7 complaint hotline service.
“ e intent is to get compliance, not go to citations,” he said.
Clark said the county isn’t aiming to discourage STRs.
“ ere are a number of perceived benets to short-term rentals,” he said. “A wellrun short-term rental can have bene ts to the community. But too many of them would also start causing some negativity as well.
“ e board of adjustment hears 1-4 at each hearing (currently). e vast majority are approved regardless of neighborhood concerns because generally, people complain about what could happen, not what has happened. In many cases, we’ve found the concerns of what may happen with an STR don’t always pan out. We also understand the people who are going through this process are trying to do it the right way.”
Nevertheless, Je erson County is prepared to take steps against an STR that is problematic.
“If there’s a bad operator out there, there are ways to get that taken care of, and get that license revoked,” Clark said. “And it’s not just that one license. at house itself has a scar against it. ey can’t just transfer it to a wife or child and do it again. e owner is prohibited from applying again for ve years. It’s a pretty sti penalty.
“We are as con dent as we can be we are mitigating to the extent practical the impacts of short-term rentals with these regulations.”
One woman, who did not give her name, objected to some of Clark’s comments and the elimination of neighborhood input.
“I’ve heard you say these are theoretical problems, and they’re not; they are real problems,” she said. “I think it’s very important for there to be property inspections and also to notify the neighbors beforehand. To completely eliminate any neighbors is not fair.”
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Some of the requirements in the proposed regulations include having bearproof trash cans, inspecting and pumping septic systems annually, a maximum occupancy limit of 10, strict limits on outdoor res, and having a contact within 30 minutes of an rental space who has authority to immediately address issues and make decisions on the owner-operator’s behalf.
“Typically for noise or parking complaints, we would want someone to come out right away,” Clark said. “If there’s an unruly guest who has a really loud party and a neighbor calls, we’d expect a fairly rapid response. If they’re blocking a narrow mountain street, that would get a
Clark urged her to submit her comments to str@je co.us, and attend the planning commission and county commissioners’ hearings.
“No matter where you land on this, if you think this is the best or worst thing ever, it’s important you come to the hearings,” he said. “ ey’re the ones who are going to make the decisions on this. at’s when it’s really important to let your opinions be known.
“ is isn’t the end of this process. it’s the beginning.”
erevised STR regulations will likely be set for public hearings with the planning commission and county commissioners late this year. To submit a comment, email str@je co.us by July 20.
The Je erson County Administration building in Golden. FILE PHOTO
Part III: How Can You Pay for an
This is the third installment of a monthly series about one of the hottest topics in real estate: Accessory Dwelling Units. ADUs have gotten a lot of attention recently as a housing option. You can read the previous installments online at my blog, http://realestatetoday.substack.com
My thanks to John Phillips of Verdant Living for helping with the research on this series of articles.
home improvement loan. It will probably be one of the largest loans the borrower has, exceeded only by the mortgage on their primary residence.
Talk About ADUs
ADUs — detached accessory (or additional) dwelling units, also called mini homes — are a wonderful idea for the right homeowner. They use an existing piece of residential real estate and create a separate living space. They are often used for intergenerational housing (aging parents, 20-somethings just starting out, etc.) and have long term value as rental property and add to the value of your real estate.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)?
whatever) or with help from parents/ children/friends.
In my Real Estate Today column on February 20, 2025, which you can read on my blog referenced above, I discussed the basics of ADU finance. Today, I want to talk a bit more about the dynamics involved.
Financial issues are an impediment to getting an ADU built because of two general issues.
Have a friend or relative co-sign for the loan (a solution that could involve sharing ownership of the real estate).
Consider ways to show the lender the value of the ADU. A rental agreement with the tenant who will occupy the ADU, explain the ongoing rental value, or show how the ADU will increase the value of the real estate (thus increase the value of the mortgage security). Note, this sort of thing is just now being taken into account by the mortgage industry.
ADU and leave the primary mortgage in place; the result would be a “blended” interest rate that may be more palatable. In addition, there is an emotional issue, which may be present in buyers of moderate means. Taking on substantially more long-term debt can be intimidating. The “need” has to overcome the understandable reluctance.
So, you want to put an ADU on your property. How do you pay for it?
A couple of basics. First, an ADU is part of an existing piece of real estate (a primary residence). As a result, assuming money is borrowed to pay for it, the loan will be within the mortgage finance industry. Until recently, very few in that industry were knowledgeable about ADUs, much less about how they could be financed. Banks, other lending institutions, mortgage brokers, government finance authorities, didn’t understand how they fit in, but that is changing. Second, the amount of the loan will be relatively significant, far more than purchasing a nice automobile, or a
Credit Qualification. As anyone who has purchased a home knows, the mortgage industry has an extensive process to determine the credit worthiness of a borrower for a particular transaction (income, debt-toincome ratio, credit score, etc.). This is one of the reasons the majority of ADUs are built by relatively well off homeowners. For those of moderate means, financing the construction can be a challenge. This is unfortunate, because those are the homeowners who might benefit most having an ADU for intergenerational housing and, in the long term, creating rental income and building wealth by enhancing the value of their most valuable asset, their home. If a homeowner has a real need, and is determined to build the ADU, here are some practical suggestions that might improve credit worthiness:
Lower the amount of the loan and thus the monthly payment by increasing the down payment, using available cash (savings or
Successful Program Teaches Trades for the Autistic
I recently learned about a fascinating program called TACT — Teaching the Autistic Community Trades. I was so inspired visiting their Denver facility that I must share it with you!
TACT is a pioneering and innovative nonprofit organization that provides hands-on vocational and technical training to young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). TACT aims to combat the historically high 90% under- and unemployment rate within this community by equipping individuals with practical skills that lead to sustainable careers. Through its immersive training programs, TACT is preparing young people with ASD — who now represent 1 in 36 children — for high-demand careers in the skilled trades. TACT offers a wide range of programs, including auto mechanics, computer coding, cybersecurity, carpentry, electrical work, electric vehicle conversions, 3D modeling, welding, and culinary arts.
As a “specialized day school,” TACT also bridges the gap between secondary and postsecondary education, creating clear pathways to employment. Its programs empower students to become more independent and earn a living wage in high-skill, high-wage occupations. TACT remains the first and only trade program in the country designed specifically for individuals with ASD, and it has positively impacted thousands of individuals and families throughout Colorado.
TACT envisions a world where neurodiversity is not only accepted but celebrated, allowing individuals on the autism spectrum to fully contribute their talents and find personal fulfillment. With a mission to empower the entire spectrum of individuals with ASD through education and employment in the skilled trades, TACT continues to build on a strong foundation, fostering opportunities for success. I’ve posted an inspiring video at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com
In Colorado, legislation supporting ADU development (which takes affect this July) includes a provision (and some funding), tasking the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CFHA) with organizing a program that would help ADU purchasers of moderate means qualify for financing. That program should be announced soon.
Lower the cost of the ADU by choosing lower cost options, ranging from less expensive building materials to things like more affordable appliances.
Borrower reluctance. It should come as no surprise that interest rates play a major role. Homeowners can use the equity in their main residence (by refinancing their current mortgage) to build the ADU. However, if the primary mortgage carries a low interest rate, as most do these days, the borrower will not want to refinance at current rates.
A good alternative is to apply for a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to pay for the
Finally, there is the possibility of a third party (someone not living on the property) investing in the ADU, thus facilitating the financial piece. Under recent legislation the legal mechanisms to make it work would need to be developed. It is an interesting possibility and could overcome the financing obstacles, particularly for those of moderate means.
Although the dynamics are very different, a similar idea has been tried in South Africa to help ease the need for housing there. I have a link to a Bloomberg article about that project on my blog.
To help with these issues, Verdant Living has published a very useful buyers guide, BuyersGuideColoradoADUs.com, with advice on financing. Another good resource is the VerdantLiving.us, or contact John Phillips at 303-717-1962
I want to thank the following people in addition to John Phillips for their input: Jaxzann Riggs, The Mortgage Network; Kristen Stultz, Macro Financial; Charles Edington, LOANstar; Cindy Beier, Cindy’s Property Solutions.
These Past “Real Estate Today” Columns May Interest You
Clickable links for each column can be found at www.JimSmithColumns.com
May 29, 2025 — Divorcing Couples With a Home Need a Realtor With Specialized Training
May 22, 2025 — Home Sharing Helps Single Seniors Deal With Finance and Loneliness, Allowing Them to Age in Place
April 24, 2025 — Lennar to Build 1,500 Geothermal Homes; My Review of the Mustang Mach E
April 17, 2025 — Redfin Report Highlights the Increasing Cost of Buying versus Renting a Home
April 10, 2025 — The Typical Wood-Frame, SiteBuilt Home So Common Since the ’90s May Soon Be a Thing of the Past
Mar. 27, 2025 — Here’s How Money Is Handled at a Real Estate Closing
Mar. 20, 2025 — Thinking of Using a Reverse Mortgage to Purchase a Home? Here’s Some Information
Mar. 13, 2025 — Will Colorado Be Able to Sustain Its ‘Green Agenda’ Under Pressure From Washington?
Pollutants Emitted When Cooking With Gas
Oct. 31, 2024 — Cooperative Living Presents an Attractive Alternative for Downsizing Seniors
Sept. 26, 2024 — Some Thoughts on Keeping Your Death From Becoming an Undue Burden on Your Heirs
Sept. 5, 2024 — What Knowledge and Skills Should You Expect Your Real Estate Agent to Have?
Aug. 8, 2024 — Seniors Over 70 Might Consider Downsizing Into a Rental, Not a Smaller Home
July 25, 2024 — Many Homeowners Don’t Understand Title Issues, Which Could Lead to Big Problems Later On
June 6, 2024 — Here Are Some Simple Steps to Take to Avoid Unpleasant Surprises After Closing
Mar. 21, 2024 — What’s Behind the Buzz About ‘Indoor Air Quality’ and ‘Sick Building Syndrome’?
Feb. 22, 2024 — Most Sellers Don’t Know How to Interview a Listing Agent. Here’s Some Guidance.
We May Have Underpriced This Amazing Home!
$1,195,000
Here’s why. The fully equipped 511-sq.-ft. heated workshop shown here is included in the 3,500-sq.-ft. custom-built home at 2069 Garrison St. in Lakewood. Every possible power and hand tool a carpenter might want is in this workshop. The rest of this 3-bedroom/3-bath house is amazing, too, starting with the great kitchen, which has a built-in Miele espresso machine (my favorite!) plus a Sub-Zero refrigerator with cherrywood doors to match the kitchen cabinetry. The seller-owned 17-kW solar photovoltaic system meets all the electrical needs of the home, including charging the seller’s electric car. See all these features and more in the 11-minute video tour I posted at www.GRElistings.com. The website contains more photos and full descriptions of each room. Sorry, there will be no open houses. Call your agent or me at 303-525-1851 to see it in person.
Mar. 6, 2025 — 62% of Americans Think a 20% Down Payment Is Required, But It’s the #1 Myth
Feb. 27, 2025 — As Society Deals With Homelessness and Affordability, Expect a Greater Focus on Manufactured Homes
Feb. 20, 2025 — We Have a Tool to Help You Find the ‘Perfect’ Home That’s Not on the MLS
Dec. 26, 2024 — As Pro-Tenant Laws Expand, Some Small Landlords Are Considering Cashing Out
Dec. 19, 2024 — What Are the Costs of Buying or Selling a Home in Colorado?
Nov. 7, 2024 — We Need to Take Seriously the
Dec. 21, 2023 — D.R. Horton Inks Deal to Build Homes With OSB Made From Grass Instead of Wood
Nov. 23, 2023 — Scamming Has Become Its Own Industry, and We’re All Prospective Victims
Sept. 28, 2023 — Insurance Companies Are Pulling Out of California. Is That in Our Future?
Aug. 10, 2023 — What Are Some Common Mistakes That Homeowners Make When Selling?
June 15, 2023 — Don’t Let Capital Gains Tax Deter You From Cashing Out on an Investment Property
May 11, 2023 — Do Agents Inflate the Cost of Buying or Selling Your Home with ‘Junk Fees’?
Next month: Why smaller living spaces work well Congratulations to David Dlugasch,
Geer plea in deadly crash expected August 4
Mines confirms Geer no longer employed at the university
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG
e Wheat Ridge man charged with killing Golden Police O cer Evan Dunn in a Nov. 6 crash is set to enter a plea on Aug. 4. Stephen Geer, 43, has been charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault after he reportedly drove into the scene of a tra c accident along Highway
58, striking four people. Dunn, 33, died at the scene.
GPD O cer Bethany Grusing was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, but city o cials con rmed she has returned to work and has been recovering in the months since the incident.
Two civilians were also injured, according to police reports.
Geer appeared in person at a June 23 hearing, as he’s been out of custody on a $250,000 cash/surety bond since November.
He was listed on the Mines website as a teaching assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the time of the inci-
dent. is was still the case as of his most recent court appearance in mid-May. However, by June 23, Mines spokesperson Erich Kirshner con rmed Geer was no longer employed at the university.
Geer is no longer listed on the Mechanical Engineering Department’s faculty and sta page, as he had been during the 2024-25 academic year, but he is still listed in the Directory of the School. Kirshner said Mines was still updating its website for the 2025-26 academic year.
Since waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in March, Geer has been scheduled for arraignment twice, which is when he would enter a plea. However,
both times, his arraignment was continued — once from April 28 and now from June 23.
On April 28, the prosecutor and defense attorney asked the judge for more time to negotiate.
On June 23, based on their comments to Judge Russell Klein, both sides wanted to ensure there was plenty of time to consult the victims in the case. ey asked Klein to reschedule Geer’s arraignment for July or August, preferably in the late afternoon to ensure interested parties could attend the hearing.
Veteran Je co teacher says district owes back pay
County Education Association. at designation, according to the contract, includes anyone working at least half-time.
Di erent titles, same duties
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SUZIE@COTLN.ORG
When longtime Conifer High School physics teacher Louie King returned to the classroom after retiring, he didn’t expect to take his employer to court.
But after he failed to receive a 5% costof-living adjustment given to other Jefferson County Public School educators for the 2024–25 school year that King believes he was entitled to, he led a small claims lawsuit to recover what he believes he and more than 100 other retirees are owed.
Yet, according to a district spokesperson, King wasn’t denied a cost-of-living adjustment. Rather, he wasn’t eligible for one based on the bargaining agreement between JCEA and the district.
“ is really isn’t about a couple thousand dollars,” King said. “It’s about a whole group of people who are being used unfairly.”
King says he quali es for the cost-of-living adjustment and stipend because he meets the de nition of “educator” under the district’s contract with the Je erson
Still, King’s base pay decreased slightly from the prior year, and he says the district is misinterpreting a clause in Article 17 of the negotiated agreement to justify the decision.
A September 2024 email from Adam Barnett, executive director of total rewards, states that retired educators returning to work are “reset” each year to the salary step closest to their nal preretirement pay.
“While the step King was placed on for the 2024-25 school year was di erent than the one from 2023-24, it was in accordance with the current contract language, guaranteeing him pay no less than what he was receiving at the time of his retirement, but a ording him the COLA that was applied to steps, although his step placement from year to year might vary,” a district spokesperson said. at approach, King argues, strips returning retirees of any pay progression or raises and violates the intent of costof-living adjustments, which are meant to help all working educators keep pace with in ation.
“I’m not asking for special treatment,” he said. “Just the same treatment as every other educator.”
Based on records gathered from public records requests and a list provided to him by JCEA, King estimates that more than 100 retirees were a ected by the policy.
However, a district spokesperson stated that for the 2024-25 school year, 29 retirees were working in a JCEA position at 0.5 FTE or higher.
While some work sporadically as substitutes, King said the district rehired at least 20 at the threshold for contract protections, union representation and costof-living adjustment eligibility under the negotiated agreement.
“ ese are experienced teachers stepping into hard-to- ll roles,” King said. “ ey already know the kids. ey need little to no training. ey’re a huge asset to the district, and they’re being undervalued.”
Some retirees are classi ed as “guest teachers” or long-term substitutes, earning about $200 per day. Others, like King, are hired under post-retirement contracts that come with speci c terms.
According to the union agreement, “educators who return to Je co on postretirement contracts are not entitled to salary advancement via steps and/or lanes for the duration of their employment.
“What a bargain the district gets out of these people,” King said. “You don’t have to pay their medical. You don’t have to train them. ey walk in and do the job.”
Union limits and legal next steps
After ling a grievance and requesting arbitration, King stated that the Colorado Education Association, the state’s teachers’ union, declined to move forward with the case. at decision cleared the way for King to pursue the matter independently in Je erson County small claims court. At a June 5 hearing, the district asked for the case to be dismissed. Instead, the magistrate issued a stay and gave King until August 6 to seek arbitration, saying he wasn’t yet certain whether King had fully exhausted his administrative remedies.
According to King, the cost of arbitration could range from $3,000 to $6,000, which is a signi cant expense for a retired teacher without legal representation.
Still, King said he is committed to seeing it through.
“I’ve always tried to nish the things I start,” he said. “I just want to leave the profession better than I found it for the kids and for the teachers who come after me.”
the this ing also tas, and under Pines 12, breakers ous margaritas,” service to and nifer Front there “I heat bigger blankets up
ConiferFest returns July 12 with four rockin’ bands
Fundraiser for Conifer Rotary rounded out by food, beer, wine and margaritas
BY JANE REUTER JANE@COTLN.ORG
In step with their tradition of “keeping the fun in fundraising,” ConiferFest will this year host four eclectic bands, playing a mix of rock, blue and reggae. ey’ll also o er their usual beer, wine, margaritas, and 22 vendors, including food trucks and arts and crafts booths.
Tickets are $5, with no charge for kids under the age of 12.
e event at Conifer’s Our Lady of the Pines open space kicks o at 11 a.m. July 12, with the rst band playing at 1 p.m.
e lineup includes e Midday Sons, e Ritual Blues League, Izzy & the Icebreakers and Iron Roots Band.
“It’s the same simple format as previous years — a lot of music, beer, wine and margaritas,” said Suzanne Barkley, youth service chair with Conifer Rotary. “We try to have a fun, interesting mix of music, and this year’s is de nitely that.”
While the festival brings out lots of Conifer locals, she said word is out along the Front Range about ConiferFest.
“Last year, about 80% of the people there were from down the hill,” she said.
“I think people just want to get out of the heat and come up.
“It’s our sixth year and every year gets bigger and bigger.”
Guests are welcome to bring chairs, blankets and hula hoops and even popup canopies, though Barkley asked that
ConiferFest returns with four eclectic bands Saturday, July 12. Music kicks o at 1 p.m. and goes until dark.
the canopies be set up at the top to avoid blocking others’ views.
“It’s pretty intimate, so no matter where you are, nothing is too far away,” she said. “Come hang with your friends and make some new ones, too.”
Money raised during ConiferFest supports the local Rotary club’s programs, including the 285 Backpack Project, which provides weekend meals and snacks for children facing food scarcity, scholarships for high school students, and to local non-pro ts.
Our Lady of the Pines is at 9444 Eagle Cli Road in Conifer. Parking is free.
Get tickets at rotaryconifer.org.
Morrison to leave trustee seat vacant
The decision is designed to let residents choose their
BY JANE REUTER
Morrison Trustee Paul Sutton’s seat will remain vacant until the next general election, expected in November 2026, the board decided during its June 17 meeting. at’s in accordance with a charter amendment the town adopted in 2024 that states if a vacancy occurs, the sevenmember board can temporarily operate with fewer trustees until residents can choose their next representative in a regular election.
Sutton’s last meeting will be on July 1. He and his wife Sharolyn Anderson are moving to Tasmania.
e town charter allows the board to appoint a replacement or hold a special election.
While trustees brie y discussed their options, they quickly settled on leaving the seat open. e town attorney noted a special election is “pretty pricey” and takes time to coordinate. e Board of Trustees did agree to include the open seat in a fall 2025 election if Je erson
County opts to hold one.
Mayor Chris Wolfe noted a couple of people had expressed interest in taking Sutton’s spot.
“While it’s nice we had people who volunteered, I think it wouldn’t be fair to other people who might be interested (to appoint someone),” Trustee Dave Wirtz said. “I think we all decided as a board a while back that if there was a vacancy, we were going to try (leaving it open).”
New principal triggers response students, teachers
Former sta and students say he created a toxic culture
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SUZIE@COTLN.ORG
Stephanie Schwabauer was pregnant and in charge of state testing at New America School–Lakewood when she says her boss, Jon Berninzoni, made a joke that stunned her into silence.
“I told him I was going to give birth right around state testing time,” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Yeah, I could take care of
GEER
“ e court is very aware of the nature of this case and its complexity,” the prosecutor said.
Klein granted it and rescheduled Geer’s arraignment for 3:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
The Nov. 6 incident
According to the arrest a davit led against Geer, at 4:38 p.m. Nov. 6, Golden police o cers responded to eastbound Highway 58 just east of Washington Avenue. ey were investigating a crash between a Toyota Tacoma and a Subaru Crosstrek.
Amid slick and snowy conditions, the Toyota had reportedly lost control while the Subaru was trying to pass, hitting it. Both vehicles were disabled near the me-
that for you with a wire hanger.’”
Schwabauer said it wasn’t the only time Berninzoni, the charter school’s principal, crossed a line. She claims he created a toxic environment for sta and students, retaliated against teachers who pushed back and targeted those who didn’t t his mold of who belonged.
Eventually, Schwabauer said, the stress drove her to leave the job she loved after three years.
Berninzoni, a longtime charter school administrator, was recently hired to lead Lakewood’s McLain Community High School, which serves students pursuing alternative pathways to graduation.
dian.
All involved vehicles were on the far-left side of Highway 58, according to the afdavit, with a Golden Police vehicle positioned behind the other two. All other tra c was moving to the right, away from the original crash scene.
e Subaru’s driver, the Toyota’s driver and her father, Dunn and Grusing were outside the vehicles getting photos and evaluating the scene at 4:53 p.m. when a black Mazda traveling eastbound entered the area.
e Mazda reportedly hit the Toyota and then the Subaru, pinning Dunn under the latter. He died from his injuries at the scene.
According to the a davit, Grusing and the Toyota’s driver also sustained serious injuries, with the latter su ering a skull fracture and brain bleed. Her father, who was thrown over the jersey barrier, also sustained a large laceration to his head and elbow, the a davit describes.
His appointment is drawing sharp criticism from former sta and students at his previous school, New America School–Lakewood.
New America School is a network of public charter high schools founded in 2004 by Jared Polis and Denver-area leaders to empower immigrant, English-language learning and academically underserved students in metro Denver through small, supportive campuses.
Rigorous, multi-faceted checks Je erson County Public Schools is standing by its decision. A district spokesperson said Berninzoni was vet-
e Subaru driver was uninjured. A third GPD o cer who was in the patrol vehicle behind the initial accident scene was also uninjured.
Shortly after the crash, authorities identi ed Geer as the Mazda’s driver. He reportedly told state troopers at the scene he’d been driving home after having a beer at a local bar with a coworker.
He told troopers he’d noticed “yellow ashing lights and attempted to stop” but wasn’t able to, the a davit describes.
Investigators detected alcohol on Geer’s breath, the a davit continues, and he initially agreed to voluntary roadside sobriety tests. However, after he was informed of his Miranda rights around 6:06 p.m., he refused to talk further or complete the sobriety tests.
After receiving a search warrant, investigating troopers completed a blood draw at 8:46 p.m. at the Je co jail, the a davit continues.
It also states that Geer has no previous
ted through a “rigorous, multi-faceted” process that included background checks and reference calls to current and former supervisors.
But interviews and internal communications reviewed by the Colorado Trust for Local News suggest found former teachers and students who made repeated attempts to raise concerns about morale, equity and retaliation but were either ignored or met with silence.
In 2022, a veteran teacher submitted a formal complaint to the NAS board alleging Berninzoni “bullied teachers, belittled
criminal history.
On Nov. 14, the District Attorney’s Ofce formally charged Geer with One count of vehicular homicide, a class 3 felony, for Dunn’s death; Two counts of vehicular assault, a class 4 felony, for injuring Grusing and the Toyota’s driver; One count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for injuring the Toyota’s driver’s father; One count of driving under the in uence, a misdemeanor.
City o cials have con rmed Dunn is the rst Golden police o cer to be killed in the line of duty.
Over the last several months, Goldenites and others across the country have honored Dunn’s memory by fundraising for his family and Grusing’s recovery. e community also honored Dunn with temporary and permanent memorials, including adding his name to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial at Camp George West and renaming a stretch of Highway 58 in his memory.
EPRD director Don Rosenthal said, advocating for construction on the eldhouse in 2026-27 instead of 2025. “ e pool and the park are the bulk. We really need to get those under our belt.”
“ e pool is the big driver,” agreed director Betsy Hays. “Let’s make sure we are really clear on how much this pool is going to cost us.”
Three major projects
EPRD has spent years planning the three major projects, which include the construction of a new pool and gymnasium at Buchanan Recreation Center and the renovation of adjacent Buchanan Park, all at a total cost of about $14 million.
Initial work on the 42-acre park — set to include a pavilion, adventure playground, skatepark, courts and play elds — is already underway. Grants are helping defray that project’s total cost.
“We feel we are on schedule to deliver this project by the end of 2028,” EPRD grants and strategy manager Liz Cohen said.
On its own, the proposed Buchanan Rec Center natatorium — the most expensive project on the list — will cost about $10 million.
While the board had originally planned to start construction on all three projects in 2025, directors now feel it would be best to wait on the eldhouse. Among the decisions that could in uence the cost of the natatorium are whether to build a seven- or eight-lane natatorium.
“We are working with our designers and construction teams to aim for eight lanes,” Hays said. “We need to stay in budget, but
eight lanes is the goal.”
Sanctioned championship meets must have at least eight lanes, which local swim coaches are advocating for.
EPRD contracted with EVStudio to design the natatorium in February, with aquatics designers Counsilman-Hunsaker working as subcontractors with EVStudio.
Voters approved a property-tax extension in November 2023 that provides about $1.4 million a year to the district, which is investing the money to stretch it further. EPRD has reserved another $2 million of its funding to renovate Wulf Recreation Center after the Buchanan projects are done, and for other projects.
EPRD president Mary McGhee expressed frustration that the district doesn’t have more control over Wulf, which is on land owned by Je erson County Schools.
The EPRD board is weighing whether to build a seven-or eight-lane pool. This configuration shows the 8-lane design.
e district currently lacks adequate court space, and while courts are proposed in the planned eldhouse, she suggested Wulf could also help ll that need.
“I wish we owned the land at Wulf,” she said. “It would make all these conversations so much easier. People on the south end (of the district) feel they’ve never been given services. Yet Wulf has two courts with high ceilings. If those could be refurbished, it’s perfect.”
e addition of court space there could enable EPRD to scale back the size of the proposed Buchanan Park eldhouse from the current 20,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet.
“We want to make sure we know what we’re going to do with Wulf Rec Center rst so we can be sure we’re doing what makes sense for the community,” Hays said.
CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTING EQUIPMENT
9th @ 9:00 A.M.
HAPPENINGS
We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visit www.canyoncourier.com/calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email jane@cotln.org to get items in the newspaper. Items will appear in print on a spaceavailable basis.
UPCOMING
43rd annual Freedom 5K Run: 8 a.m. July 4, Evergreen Middle School, 2059 South Hiwan Drive, Evergreen. Proceeds support Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice. Register online at FreedomRunRace.org in person at the Mount Evans o ce.
Foothills Fourth: Noon to 4:30 p.m. July 4, Buchanan Park elds, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. Family-friendly community festival featuring music all day, community acts, carnival games, woodcarving showcase, log-rolling competition, food trucks and beer garden. Full schedule at evergreenrecreation.com
EPRD Summer Concert series: 4 p.m. July 9, Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road. Sarah Bauer Band. Free. evergreenrecreation.com
Coniferfest: 11 a.m. July 12. Our Lady of the Pines open space, 9444 Eagle Cli Road, Conifer. Live Music from e Midday Sons, Izzy and the Icebreakers, e Ritual Blus League and Iron Roots. Vendors, food trucks, beer, wine and margaritas. $5 entry, children under 12 free. Leashed dogs welcome, free parking. rotaryconifer.org
the Sorcerer’s Stone”: 4 p.m. July 16, Buchanan Park eld, 32003 Ellingwood Lane, Evergreen. In atables, food truck, ice cream, yard games. evergreenrecreation.com
Evergreen Players drama camp: One week July 17 & 24. With camps for ages 5-16. Costs vary. Details: evergreenplayers.org
Evergreen Audubon Birding Walk: 7:30 a.m. July 18, with MALT at Sacramento Creek Ranch, 2234 Busch Run, Fairplay. For children 5 years and under with an adult. 80440. Free, registration required. evergreenaudubon.org
Andy Smith Sr. INSPIRE Golf Tournament: 7 a.m. July 14, Hiwan Golf Club, 30671 Clubhouse Lane, Evergreen. Fundraiser for the Evergreen Park and Recreation District’s INSPIRE program, Crutches 4 Africa, Resilience1220, and the Mountain Foothills Rotary Foundation. evergreenrecreation.com
Evergreen Audubon “Evergreen Explorers”: 9 a.m. July 15 with EPRD at Evergreen Lake. Geared to children 5 and under with an adult. 27640 CO-74, Evergreen. More info and registration: evergreenaudubon.org
Evergreen Audubon Living in a Watershed: 5:30 p.m. July 16, Evergreen Nature Center. Workshop and Field Training (#3 in a series of 6) Hands-on experience caring for our watershed. Sign up for one or for all. Free, registration required. evergreenaudubon.org
Movies in the Park “Harry Potter &
Seniors4Wellness Friday Cafe: 11:30 a.m. July 18, Christ the King Catholic Church, 4291 Evergreen Parkway. 720835-8776
45th Annual Summerfest: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 19 & 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 20, Buchanan Field, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. $5 at the door, kids 10 and under free Hosted by the Center for the Arts Evergreen with proceeds supporting yearround arts programs. evergreenarts.org..
EPRD Summer Concert series: 4 p.m. July 23, Buchanan Park eld, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. e Wrecklunds. Free. evergreenrecreation.com.
evergreenrecreation.com
Mountain Music Fest: Noon to 9 p.m. Aug. 16.Buchanan Park, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. Music and community event to support the mountain community school system. Featuring Sam Grisman Project with e Leslies, Flobots, and Christie Hu , YAN YEZ, Hand Turkey Band, and Non-Prophet. mountainmusicfest.org.
CAE’s Back Porch Concert Series featuring Crystal Visions: 7 p.m. Aug 22. Outdoor seating starts at 6 p.m. General admission $20, kids 10 and under free. 31880 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen. evergreenarts.org.
CAE’s Back Porch Concert Series featuring e 3eatles: 7 p.m. Sept 12. Outdoor seating starts at 6 p.m. General admission $20, kids 10 and under free. 31880 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen. evergreenarts.org.
Elevation Celebration: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 27 and 28, Conifer. Street fair, live music, local artists and vendors, 5K. mountainwomeninbusiness.com
Movies in the Park & Family Campout with “Shrek”: 4 p.m. Aug. 1, Buchanan Park eld, 32003 Ellingwood Lane, Evergreen. In atables, food truck, ice cream, yard games. evergreenrecreation.com
31st annual Community Grove Sale: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 2, Evergreen Lutheran Church, 5980 Hwy 73, Evergreen. Donations of gently used items accepted 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 28 - July 30. Questions: 920-840-8158
EPRD Summer Concert series: 4 p.m. Aug. 6, Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road. Steve Knight. Free.
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.
Al-Anon: Mountain Awakenings Family Group: 7 p.m. ursdays, Evergreen United Methodist Church, 3757 Ponderosa Drive, Evergreen.
Evergreen Nature Center Weekly Preschool Adventures Program: 9 a.m. every ursday, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. Free & no registration required. Programs are designed for children aged 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. evergreenaudubon.org
ONGOING
Evergreen Park & Recreation District camps: Now through Aug. 8. For youth starting age 3. Includes preschool, summer adventure, outdoor climbing, gymnastics, science and technology, sports, INSPIRE (Special Needs), Lake House, chess, and Challenger soccer. evergreenrecreation.com.
Evergreen Farmer’s Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday through Sept. 23, Center for the Arts Evergreen, 31880 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen.
Evergreen Cars & Co ee: 9 a.m. to noon rst Saturdays through Sept. 6. 29340 Industrial Way, Evergreen.
Alzheimer’s Memory Cafe: 10:30 a.m. every rst Friday. No Memory Cafe on July 4, Evergreen Library, 5000 County Hwy 73, Evergreen. Program providing a gathering place and planned activities for adults with dementia and their caregivers. Info: 303.235.5275
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. Evergreen Bread and Cocktail Lounge, 1260 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen.
e American Legion Evergreen Post 2001: Meets 4 p.m. every fourth Tuesday, 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.
Evergreen Area Republican Club: e Evergreen Area Republican Club meets at 6 p.m. the rst Wednesday of the month at the Evergreen Fire/Rescue Administration Building, 1802 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. e May 7 speaker is 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler. Information at evergreenarearepublicanclub. org
Mountain Area Democrats: Mountain Area Democrats meet at 9 a.m. the fourth Saturday of the month January through April at the United Methodist Church of Evergreen, 3757 Ponderosa Drive, Evergreen. For more information, e-mail mtnareademocrats@gmail.com
Evergreen Nature Center: Evergreen Nature Center is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays next to Church of the Trans guration. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.EvergreenAudubon.org.
ROTARY ANNOUNCES THREE SCHOLARSHIPS BY STAFF REPORT
e Conifer Rotary recently awarded scholarships to Conifer area students ey included Kaylee Giese, who plans to major in pediatric care at Colorado State University, Adeline Pulio who plans to major in elementary education at Western Colorado University, Spencer Fuentes, who plans to major in aeronautics at Embry-Riddle, Isabelle Gardiner, who plans to major in pre-med at Brigham Young and Kyle MacArthur, who plans to attend the University of Colorado Boulder.
We the People: The Immigrant in All of Us
Ilove Paul Simon’s 1968 hit, “America.” It captures the soul of a wandering, wondering young man in search of his identity and the role he’s to play now that he’s an adult.
After she’s dozed o , he con des to his friend Cathy that he’s lost. I identify with that state of mind. At eighteen, I too was lost, and now in my ripened age, at times it feels as if I’ve come full circle.
JERRY FABYANIC
Columnist
I sometimes wonder if this is still the land I came of age in, the one Jay and the Americans rhapsodized about in their 1966 pop hit, “Only in America.” My deep love for America says yes, that it’s only a matter of her temporarily losing her way.
But I also admit to an occasional foreboding, troubled that she’s changing and the America of my lifetime is morphing into something I cannot put my nger on. And if that were the case, I wouldn’t like what I’d discover.
In his song, Paul has a limited view of America. He’s hitchhiked from Saginaw to meet Cathy in Pittsburgh where they hop a bus and head eastward across Pennsylvania to the New Jersey Turnpike. at was the part I found disconcerting. I felt they were heading in the wrong direction. From my earliest days, I sensed west was the way to go. Regardless, Paul gets at a strain in the American psyche: the urge to pick up and go and to explore new terrain. We’re a nomadic people even if it’s only in our daydreams.
Packing up and heading to a new place causes con icting emotions to rise within a wayfarer. On the one hand, there’s the thrill and excitement about the adventure, discovering what’s out there and testing your mettle rst in surviving then thriving in your new land.
On the other hand, you realize you’re leaving all you’ve known and intuitively sense, even if you haven’t read Tom Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again,” that you’ll never be able to return. Oh, you certainly could go back to visit and reminisce, but the life you leave will invariably change in ways that you won’t be part of as you will in ways alien to your kith and kin. In a sense, you’ll become a stranger in the land of your birth.
I wonder how my grandparents might’ve felt after leaving their rural native lands in Eastern Europe and being thrust into the blast furnaces of Braddock, Pennsylvania and the factories in nearby towns where they scratched out a living under sub-human conditions.
Did they yearn to return to Europe? Did they rue the choice they made? Or did they simply steel up and did what they could do so they could endow their children with the opportunity for a better life than what they would’ve had in the Old Country. A form of self-sacri ce perhaps?
I like to think it was the latter. Coming from those beatendown, impoverished lands, they had already learned that life can be brutal. us, they likely neither regretted their decision to emigrate nor dwelled in a self-pitying, woe-is-me cesspool. Plus, they’d die knowing they put their children and grandchildren in a better place. And that place was and is America. I will never give up on America when she gets o kilter. e reason is she remains far greater than the specs of what’s currently being played out. As I wrote before, America is an idea, a most fantastic one. It’s still the land of opportunity for those who choose hope over despair. It’s on the faces of the beatendown who each day pick themselves up and struggle onward to make a better life for themselves and their kith and kin. It’s on the faces of immigrants yearning to become part of America’s story. Despite the calumny raining down on them, they’re personi cations of what America is about.
In his rendition of “America,” Neil Diamond captures that sensibility. He wrote the lyrics in tribute to his grandparents who ed czarist Russia and, like my grandparents, found a new start in America. In an interview, Neil said his song was also about the “immigrant in all of us.” anks to the courage and steeliness of their immigrant ancestors, most Americans have likely found their place in America. Interestingly, for many, most from what I can ascertain, it’s the place of or relatively close to the place of their birth. For the rest who didn’t and don’t just daydream, it’s somewhere else in America, not only between Saginaw and New Jersey.
Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.
VOICES
This mountain was listed for sale — but
not to you
Editor’s note: Senate Energy Chairman Mike Lee’s plan to sell o thousands of square miles of Western public lands has apparently been blocked for now due to Senate rules, but Lee has vowed to resurrect his idea of selling public lands to private interests.
To my fellow Coloradans, You may have heard that public lands are up for sale — but did you know they include our own backyard treasures? Gothic Mountain, the trails around Crested Butte, and parts of the Maroon Bells Wilderness could soon belong to billionaires or corporations, not to the people who love and rely on them. ese aren’t hypothetical risks — this was written into legislation that would allow buyers to sit on the land for any future use, including mining or development.
Prices aren’t going to be cheap and they certainly aren’t going to average Coloradans.
I’m a scientist and mom of three in Centennial. For over 20 years, I’ve conducted ecological research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), on Forest Service lands now at risk. Since 2018, I’ve tracked ground temperatures every ve
TGUEST COLUMN
minutes at 30 alpine sites to understand whether a species of Sulfur butter y caterpillars can nd microclimate refuges to survive climate change. is work may sound obscure — but it’s part of a bigger picture. We can’t x what we don’t understand. Long-term, place-based science like this is how we learn what to protect and how.
RMBL has conducted ecological research since 1928 — approaching 100 years — and revealed why 20% less water reaches our rivers today despite normal snowpack — crucial knowledge for managing water for 40 million people across the West. RMBL scientists are also studying native bees which we barely understand — and may be crucial to rescue colony collapse and our food system, having already documented a 60% insect decline. ese insights matter deeply to our food, our farms, and our future.
is is about more than science — it’s about access, community, and what kind of Colorado we’re leaving for our kids. Our local economies, recreation, and ranching depend on these lands. In 2023, outdoor recreation generated $65.8 billion in economic output and over 400,000 jobs in Colorado.
I don’t want my children to grow up with “No Trespassing” signs where we once camped, hiked, and smelled wild owers. We must protect the lands that feed our bodies, minds, and spirits — not put them behind locked gates or luxury price tags. Wouldn’t you just love to pay ski ticket prices to camp on land you can now camp for free or a small permit fee? Call your senators. Tell them to stop this sale. is guest column was written by Jeannie Stamberger, who has been conducting eldwork in ecology and evolution at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory since 2001, obtaining her Ph.D. in biology at Stanford University in 2006. She has served on the RMBL board and is a current principal investigator at RMBL. She is a mother of three who lives with her husband and family in Centennial.
Seeds of greatness
he title of this column is borrowed from one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read: “Seeds of Greatness” by Denis Waitley. But for anyone who had the privilege of knowing Denis, or simply learning from him through his books, audios, or keynote speeches, those three words are far more than a title. ey represent a way of life. A code. A calling.
Denis Waitley didn’t just write about greatness, he lived it. He sowed seeds of inspiration, belief, and transformation in millions of lives around the world. Mine included.
A hero who became a friend. I rst met Denis in 1999. At that point, I had already been profoundly in uenced by his work, especially his landmark audio program, “ e Psychology of Winning.” at program opened my mind and heart to the power of attitude, expectation, and selfleadership. It was one of the rst personal development recordings I’d ever heard, and to this day, its lessons are still bearing fruit in my life.
So you can imagine my amazement when I not only met the man behind the voice, but was also blessed to travel with him, work with him, and share stages with him. What began as admi-
WINNING WORDS
ration from afar evolved into a personal friendship and a professional relationship I will always cherish. He stood tall among giants.
Mention the legends of the personal development movement — Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Les Brown, Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Jim Cathcart, Tony Alessandra, Tony Parinello — and Denis Waitley is right there among them, not just in reputation but in character.
What set Denis apart was his calm, steady presence. He didn’t need to raise his voice to raise the bar. His intelligence was matched only by his integrity. His humility rivaled his eloquence. And his passion? Unmistakable. He wanted nothing more than to see others win, not just in business or sports, but in life.
From Olympians and CEOs to speakers, students, and everyday strivers, Denis was the coach behind the curtain, the mentor who reminded us to see the best in ourselves before the world ever would.
When I think about Denis Waitley, I think about a legacy of personal impact. One of the most meaningful moments I shared with Denis happened at Zig Ziglar’s 80th birthday celebration. It was a beautiful, star-studded evening lled with icons and inuencers. Denis could have sat with anyone. He chose to sit with me and my family. at’s who he was, genuinely kind, profoundly present, and always pouring into others.
His teachings weren’t just theories; they were tools. He taught me to live proactively rather than reactively, and that shift alone has reshaped how I face challenges, opportunities, and relationships. He also instilled the importance of “positive self-expectancy,” the belief that the best is not only possible but probable when we align our mindset with our mission. In competitive situations, that belief has been my slight edge more times than I can count.
His nal chapters were just as powerful. Even in his later years, Denis remained a fountain of wisdom. He often told me he had so much more he wanted to say and write. So he did. “ e New Psychology of Winning” is a
Stamberger
Michael Norton
The churl next door
KITTREDGE – When her new dishwasher arrived on the morning of May 20, Samantha directed the deliverymen to park their truck in the pullout she normally uses for her own vehicle. Spying the delivery truck parked in front of her neighbor’s house, Gladys stormed outside and read Samantha the riot act, objecting variously to the location of the truck, Samantha’s qualities as a neighbor, and the presumed legal status of the deliverymen.
“I’m going to call the cops and have them deported!” vowed Gladys. Responding deputies found no fault with the truck’s location, the deliverymen’s legitimacy or any other reason for Gladys to get bent out of shape.
As it happened, Samantha had recorded a few minutes of the encounter and o ered o cers a taste of the tirade. Deputies deemed Gladys’s invective “obnoxious,” but not illegal. A report was led in case Gladys gets grumpy again.
Too little, too late
EVERGREEN – Feeling a tad parched on the afternoon of May 20, irsty strode into the liquor store and selected two “shooters” and two Gatorades. irsty put the shooters in his jacket pocket, paid for the Gatorades at the register, and drove away much refreshed.
sion. Asked for some personal information for the report, she gave the deputy an email address for her homeowners association and hung up the phone. e o cer described her behavior as “very uncooperative”, which is another way of saying she did very little to help. After searching unsuccessfully for the blue jeep, the deputy noti ed the homeowners association of the sullied stop sign and closed the case.
Hitch SOUTH JEFFCO – e caller reported that a panhandler was walking into trafc and knocking on car windows asking for nancial assistance. Stationing himself near the identi ed intersection, a deputy didn’t have to wait long before a man holding a sign proclaiming his homelessness strode con dently into the tra c lanes and started knocking on car windows.
Manager had the entire transaction on tape, not to mention irsty’s license plate number, and asked JCSO to nd and prosecute the brazen booze bandit. Confronted with irrefutable proof of his crime, irsty pled forgetfulness, telling deputies he mistakenly “thought I paid for everything” and would return to the store immediately to settle up.
O cers advised irsty that Manager didn’t want his money, just his name on a theft citation.
Double condemnity
EVERGREEN – She had two complaints, actually.
e rst one involved the unknown driver of a blue Jeep with “shoe polish on the back window” whom she’d witness defacing a privately-owned stop sign near her home with black paint. She wanted the vandal located and brought to justice forthwith.
e second was against JCSO, which, she said, “did very little to help” when her car was egged on a previous occa-
e o cer contacted the man and explained that it’s illegal to solicit motorists in the middle of roadways. “I was just asking for a ride,” said the man, who may have su ered from debilitating injuries to both thumbs.
e deputy wrote him an ordinance violation summons. “I understand,” the man said. “I’ll just walk home.”
Unanimous decision
MORRISON – It was about 3 a.m. on Sunday morning when JCSO dispatch received a report that two males were brawling in the street. Deputies caught up with the loser of the bout a few blocks away sporting a bloody nose and an ugly shiner.
masterwork of updated insights for a new generation. And books like “Empires of the Mind” and “ e Dragon and the Eagle” added depth and global perspective to his growing body of work.
Each page he wrote carried his voice. Each sentence, a seed.
My encouragement to you starts here. Denis Waitley may have passed from this world recently, but the legacy he leaves behind is bigger than the man himself. It lives in the lives he touched — mine, yours, and the countless others who’ve been transformed by his words. If you
Turns out the fellow had found his courage in defeat and was more than happy to provide o cers with a detailed blow-by-blow of the match. We, however, are less inclined to lengthy description, and will say only that Apollo “threw some rocks” at Rocky’s window until Rocky came outside and gave Apollo a heavyweight beat-down. Nobody wanted to press charges and the case went down for the count.
Sheri Calls is a weekly column that considers stories from local police logs gathered by the pseudonymous Stavros Koroneos and provided for the readers’ amusement and edi cation. Comments, questions and clever anecdotes should be directed to Stavros, in care of the newspaper. All individuals, even unnamed individuals, are innocent until proven guilty.
want to honor him, don’t just remember him. Read him. Study him. Share his wisdom, not for him, not even for me, but for you. Because greatness, real greatness, isn’t something we’re born with. It’s something we plant, nurture, and grow. And Denis Waitley left us all with the seeds. To know more about what I learned from this great man, email me at gotonorton@gmail.com. And when we continue to learn from the best, it really will be a better-than-good life.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
SNOWBARGER
OBITUARIES
Dale Leroy Snowbarger
November 16, 1942 - June 20, 2025
DALE LEROY SNOWBARGER, 82, passed away on Friday June 20, 2025 at HighPoint Assisted Living & Memory Care, Denver, Colorado. Dale was a loving brother, uncle, great uncle, and friend and will be missed by all who knew him.
Dale was born in Denver. Colorado, on November 16, 1942 to Herbert and Ethel (Elmgreen) Snowbarger. He grew up in Evergreen, Colorado and participated in Band playing the clarinet at Evergreen High School where he graduated in June 1960. He was awarded a music scholarship to attend and play clarinet at the Fort Lewis A & M College, Durango, Colorado. ere he pursued a bachelor’s degree in business.
Dale lived in Evergeen, Colorado his entire life where he worked for Je erson County Road and Bridge. Dale loved to bowl and participated in
several leagues where he scored seven perfect games. He also scored a hole-in-one at the Evergreen Golf Coarse. He also liked to sh and enjoyed the outdoors. Dale loved his boat and trips to the Flaming Gorge with his cousin Paul or to drive his nieces around endlessly on their water skis.
Dale is survived by his brothers Wayne and Gary; two sister-inlaws. Carol and Sue, two nieces, Nola Engelskirger and Jodie Snowbarger, a nephew, Robert Snowbarger 4 grand nieces, Lana Engelskirger, Paige Engelskirger, Sloane Eckard, and Tatum Eckard and 1 grand nephew, Eli Engelskirger. Dale is preceded in death by his mother, father, younger brother Keith. A memorial service has not been scheduled at this
Summer Theater Rocks at PACE Center
There are some musicals that are just made for the summer, and “Rock of Ages” certainly falls into that category. e show not only captures some of that wild freedom of the best summer days, but also is full of quintessential 80s songs.
“ e show is all about bigger and better. It embraces the big hair of the time and has all the great music,” said Leslie Bonnell, marketing coordinator at the Parker Arts, Culture & Events (PACE) Center, which is staging the show to close its season. “It brings out all the elements of the 80s that people nd so nostalgic and fun.”
Produced with Veritas Productions, “Rock of Ages” runs at the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave. in Parker, through Sunday, July 20. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Directed by Kelly Van Oosbree (who also does the choreography), the show takes place at one of the Sunset Strip’s last venues and features a group of music fans coming together to chase their dreams and save the soul of the strip.
“I love a good, smart comedy, and that’s what this is,” Nancy Evans Begley, co-founder and producing artistic director with Veritas Productions. She is the executive producer, assistant director and production manager for “Rock of Ages.” “My producing work started with putting together a team and we have an incredible one for this show.”
In addition to a topnotch crew, the show also features performers guaranteed to blow audiences away with their musical skills.
Most of the cast is new to the PACE Center, which adds an extra level of excitement for both performers and audiences.
Many theaters end their season during the spring, so having the opportunity to see a show during the summer makes for a special treat. And the PACE Center leans into this fact.
“ e season is a little o -set from everybody else’s, which gives patrons the opportunity to experience shows at different venues and then come here during the summer,” Begley said. “ is is the kind of show that is perfect for people who don’t like musicals, because they can still sing-along and laugh at the dialogue.”
e show is recommended for those 14 years old and older, but Begley sees this as an opportunity for parents to have a night out where they’re able to just enjoy themselves.
“We say leave the HOA, leave the board, leave the student council stu behind and come relive your favorite decade and favorite music,” she said. “In a time when our day-to-day is lled with
tension and negativity… you can escape that for two-and-a-half hours. We hope you walk out of the theatre saying, ‘ at was really fun. Let’s do more of that.’”
Information and tickets are available at https://parkerarts.org/event/rock-ofages/#event-description.
FAN EXPO Denver Brings the Pop Culture World to Fans
It’s time for the Mile High City to get its fandom on with the annual FAN EXPO Denver, held at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St., from ursday, July 3 through Sunday, July 6. is year’s event will play host to some top-tier guests, ranging from Star Trek’s William Shatner and Mae Whitman to a slew of Superman performers (a role very close to my heart) like Brandon Routh,Tyler Hoechlin and Tom Welling. In addition, there will be plenty of cosplaying, collector’s items to buy and panels to watch.
Go celebrate the best of pop culture by visiting https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpodenver/.
Independence Day Goes Big at Northglenn
If you don’t want to head to downtown Denver for your July 4th festivities, the City of Northglenn has you covered with events that last for most of the day and provide attendees of all ages with something to do. Held at EB Rains Jr. Memorial Park, 11800 Community Center Drive in Northglenn, activities begin at
noon with a car show. roughout the day, attendees can take part in a duck derby, listen to music from performers like Skool Daze, Chicano Heat, and Jacob Larson, and pick up food from vendors (if they don’t bring their own picnics). Fireworks will close out the evening at about 9:15 p.m. For full details, visit www.northglenn. org.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Wu-Tang Clan at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre I can think of no better group to listen to on the day we celebrate our independence than the Wu-Tang Clan, Staten Island’s legendary rap group. ey are, after all, for the children. And they represent the collective power of a range of voices when they come together while maintaining their individual perspectives. ey’re responsible for some of the genre’s most important music and are the best kind of American success story. eir nal tour is coming to Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. in Greenwood Village, at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 4. For the opener, the Wu-Tang will have Run the Jewels, the best modern rap duo. is has all the makings of a legendary concert, so get tickets at www.axs.com.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.
FEDERAL LANDS
vor of extractive industries.
“ e administration is going to emphasize extractive industries and fossil fuels on federal public lands and is going to move away from conservation and renewable energy,” he said.
e plan makes no mention of renewable energy or even of climate change, a sharp contrast from Interior’s current guiding template. e Bidenera2022–2026 strategic planemphasized climate resilience and a transition to clean energy. e new draft, by contrast, omits the subject of climate entirely. at is one of several breakpoints critics say reects a reversal in federal priorities.
e absence of any mention of renewable energy in the strategic plan signals, to some experts, a deeper shift in federal priorities. Wyatt Sassman, an associate professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law who specializes in natural resources matters, thinks a federal abandonment of that imperative is already underway.
“At least some reporting has suggested that (the) Fish and Wildlife (Service) has stopped issuing permits for wind energy projects,” he said. “I don’t see any legal process for that. And it’s seemingly inconsistent with the way it’s treating fossil energy projects.”
It may undercut environmental review
President Donald Trump did not wait very long after taking o ce to tighten restrictions even on wind energy production that does not rely on public lands for facilities. Seventeen states, including Colorado, and the District of Columbia launchedlitigationMay 5 in a Bostonbased federal court in an attempt to prevent the administration from executing his Jan. 20 executive orderthat purports to halt o shore wind energy development.
Trump’s team at Interior is expected to pursue a continued sharp reversal, facilitated by a likely attempt to deregulate oil and gas activities on Bureau of Land Management and other lands and waters under Interior’s control. Authors of the document explain that the department “will focus on expediting leases and streamlining and cutting regulations while promoting conservation.” Moreover, “by o ering
economic incentives and better access to energy resources, Interior will encourage private investment and create more American jobs.”
Environmental advocates say they are not surprised by the draft plan’s focus on stimulating the national economy, but they warn that the plan may presage a determined e ort to evade or undercut processes mandated in public land laws. e danger in that approach, Sassman said, is that Interior decision-makers may act in a manner that is blind to environmental consequences. “My sense is that it will get in the way of them trying to make good, well-reasoned decisions,” he said.
Sally Paez, a sta attorney at Santa Fe-based New Mexico Wild, warned that Interior’s language about process streamlining signals an intent to sidestep longstanding environmental review laws. “ e thing that really concerns me is that what I’m seeing is a lot of e orts to sort of cut any type of public participation, to cut any type of perceived red tape,” she said. “And, by ‘perceived red tape,’ what I mean are bedrock environmental laws that are in place to make sure that extraction is done in a way that doesn’t destroy our very limited water supplies in our arid state, and doesn’t impact big game corridors or endangered species and things like that.”
Environmental advocates warned that Interior’s approach may undercut review even under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act. Paez called the e ort “unprecedented,” citing fast-tracked reviews and diminished public comment periods.
e administration did not provide in the newest version of the draft strategic plan any details about how much additional logging Interior will seek to advance on BLM lands.
A March executive order directs increased logging on BLM and Forest Service lands, and the strategic plan calls for “active timber management” to reduce wild re risk but does not specify locations at which more timber extraction would occur or the scale of tree removal.
Grazing and mining are not speci cally addressed in the May document, though the drafters note a commitment to “clean coal” and reiterate a traditional adherence to “multiple-use land management.”
According to the draft plan, that approach will “ensure the country’s public lands can be used for recreation, grazing, tim-
ber sales, mining, and mineral exploration, all of which provide revenue for the U.S. government.”
Public land sales dropped
Beyond extractive industries, the strategic plan outlines priorities for water infrastructure but avoids mention of critical regional shortages. Interior would “upgrade and maintain water infrastructure to ensure water supplies while also promoting water conservation and reuse for drought resiliency.” But there is no mention in the document of how the department would approach questions of reduced supplies in the Colorado River Basin and California rivers and, other than a nod toward hydropower as an energy source, the challenge of assuring adequate ows for wild salmon in the Columbia River system and other anadromous sh freshwater habitats.
Interior o ers little detail about wildlife protection in the draft strategic plan, at least beyond mention of promoting hunting and shing on public lands and a promise “to remove harmful invasive species, delist endangered species once recovered, and involve local communities in decisions about managing nature and wildlife.”To Winter, this lack of clarity raises a risk that Interior may fail to advance the goals of the Endangered Species Act.
“We’ve already seen very aggressive steps to roll back protections under the Endangered Species Act,” he said, pointing to a recent proposal to rede ne the ESA’s de nition of harm to exclude damage to vital habitats. “We suspect that the administration intends to undermine protections for wildlife moving forward.”
e draft strategic plan includes a stated goal of strengthening “governmentto-government relationships with Native Americans and Insular Areas.” at objective, the document says, would involve “shared management of land, increasing investment in education and jobs programs, and managing trust assets for bene ciaries.”
However, the plan does not mention existing co-stewardship arrangements at major national monuments in the West, such as Bears Ears in Utah and Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands in California. It also does not address whether those monuments will retain their protections under the Antiquities Act. e draft strategic plan’s utilitarian perspective may nevertheless have little
impact on expected legal battles over the department’s e orts during the next few years to facilitate oil, gas, and coal production and mineral exploration, logging, and grazing.
“I’ve never seen the strategic plans relied on in a legal context,” Sassman said. “ ere are other kinds of legal actions they will have to take in order to e ectuate these goals.”
A rst e ort at a 2026-2030 plan, released in April, also declared that Interior’s rst priority will be to “restore American prosperity.” at version, unlike the one Interior released last month, also explicitly raised the prospect of public land sales. Winter said that the exclusion of that idea from the new rendering should not be taken as a signal that the administration has abandoned the proposition.
“I don’t think the administration is backing away from that idea,” he said. “ is issue is being taken up by Congress as part of the (budget) reconciliation process and this is really an issue that will be determined by Congress and not by the department because that’s where the authority lies.”
e public will have an opportunity to comment on the plan, once Interior nalizes a draft. e department has not yet posted it at regulations.gov, the federal government’s online portal for that purpose. is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.
A view of oil and gas development on Bureau of Land Management lands in Colorado, on July 11, 2017. COURTESY COLORAODO
BY JOHN RENFROW JOHN@COTLN.ORG
In the, shall we say, “cloudy” environment that is the United States political landscape in 2025, it can be di cult to ride for America as hard and as consistently as you might for the Broncos or Avalanche.
As the Fourth of July closes in, those warm, patriotic feelings may not come as easily as they used to (or even exist at all anymore, for some). But a yearly nostalgia for the country you thought you knew may rise to the surface on Independence Day for whatever reason, especially for sports fans who can nd evergreen things to appreciate or be thankful for.
Sometimes you need a little inspiration. Fiction certainly helps as reality continues to feel more daunting. at’s why, in this writer’s opinion, movies can perfectly harness the magic of sports, blending it with an Americana we still search for and providing hope for what we could be. Or, at the very least, it can be a fun distraction. Try these ve sports movies (and a couple of documentaries. My list, my rules.) this Fourth of July.
5. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
When creating this list, naturally, I knew I’d have to put Talladega Nights either rst or last. It’s my favorite Will Ferrell movie, and as much as I love John C. Reilly as Cal Naughton Jr. and Gary Cole as the hilari-
SPORTS
Five sports movies to try on Fourth of July
ous Reese Bobby, it just couldn’t be rst. So, it had to be last.
is is just a silly take on the brash American cowboy trope, a sort of goofy John Wayne as an unlikely racecar star. It pits Ferrell against Sacha Baron Cohen’s French driver character Jean Girard, who humbles Ricky Bobby and forces him to learn a urry of unexpected lessons. What begins as an arrogant (and hilarious) American pissing contest on the track becomes a feel-good movie that makes you want Applebee’s. Take a break from the news and go fast.
Where to watch: Hulu, Tubi, Amazon Prime Video
4. “The Redeem Team”
Admittedly, the Olympics and the World Cup are some of the only events that truly make me feel patriotic. e original super team was the 1992 Olympic men’s basketball team, led by Michael Jordan and 11 other future Pro Basketball Hall of Famers.
e Dream Team set an impossible standard of godly excellence, dominating the competition en route to an easy gold medal. Fast forward to 2004, and the U.S. nished with a disappointing bronze medal. is rallied the world’s best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and more) to unite and restore glory to the United States as the pinnacle of the basketball world in 2008.
Growing up as a diehard NBA fan, I was born too late to enjoy the original Dream
Team. But when “ e Redeem Team” was released in 2022, I watched wide-eyed as the superheroes of my childhood united like e Avengers to win the gold. If you need a reason to feel patriotic, just look to LeBron.
Where to watch: Net ix
3. “A League of Their Own”
One of the more inspiring aspects of America is the avalanche of positivity and attention snowballing in women’s sports in recent years. When the Colorado High School Activities Association sanctioned girls ag football in the 2024-25 season after a three-year pilot program, I couldn’t help but think of “A League of eir Own.” is self-deprecating comedy perfectly laughs at itself while celebrating the best of baseball: inclusivity and toughness, hot dogs and reworks. It wholeheartedly embraces the grittiness of female athletes and solidi es their seat at the table. It is also an early precursor to the idea that if you give women’s sports a platform, people will watch. Just look at the WNBA ratings lately.
Based on true events, this ick has undeniable cast chemistry and delivers a poignant message that rings even truer today.
Where to watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
2. “Miracle”
What’s better than an underdog success story? One that actually came true. at’s
why Miracle makes the top two. Kurt Russell delivers the performance of a lifetime as a former player-turned-coach in an unlikely rally of ragtag players joined together to take down Goliath. e players, who made up the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, juggled ego, adversity and loss while preparing to take on the Soviets, who were largely favored in the Olympics as the heat of the Cold War loomed.
“If we played them 10 times, they might win nine. But not this game.”
“When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back.”
Where to watch: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video
1. “The Sandlot”
Was there ever any doubt? is is the perfect sports movie. Whether it’s the endless quotability, the endearing budding friendship between the neighborhood kids in the lm or the picture-perfect Fourth of July game at the nale, this movie just gets to you.
“ ere was only one night game a year. On the Fourth of July, the whole sky would brighten up with reworks, giving us just enough light for a game. We played our best then, because, I guess, we all felt like the big-leaguers, under the lights of some great stadium.”
It’s a lm made by dreamers for dream-
SEE SPORTS, P15
BY
ree new rules will be in play when the 2025-2026 ice hockey season begins in Colorado.
e puck is unplayable if it comes to rest on top of the goal between the crossbar and the goal frame.
According to the National Federation of High Schools’ web page, the rule also clari es the rules for pucks on the outside of the goal netting and below the crossbar. Play continues in this instance.
“ e primary reason for stopping play when the puck is on top of the net is for the health and safety of players and the goalkeeper,” said Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services and editor of the NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Book, in the statement on the NFHS web page.
“ e committee did not want to see sticks coming up high, trying to knock the puck o the shelf,” Schuster continued. “ e proximity of the goalkeeper is always sensitive, so there could be sticks coming in high in the direction of the goalkeeper and the committee did not want that in high-school ice hockey.”
Another rule will keep goalkeepers from wearing audio and video devices during games.
e last rule changes the word “linesman” to “linesperson.” e federation’s rule book replaced gender-speci c language earlier.
According to the most recent NFHS athletic participation survey, more than 32,000 boys participate in ice hockey in 1,641 high schools across the country, and more than 9,600 girls participate in the sport in 785 schools.
Fifty schools eld boys teams that compete in seven conferences in Colorado, according to MaxPreps. Seven schools eld girls teams, according to MaxPreps. ose teams are in the southern end of the Denver metropolitan area, Castle Rock and one district team from Colorado Springs.
For more updates and rule changes, visit CHSAANow. com.
SPORTS
ers. Sports-lovers can place themselves back in their childhoods, hitting that last shot in the driveway to win the championship or smashing the winning home run to walk o the game. Similarly, this movie transports you there again, asking your mom for permission before grabbing your glove and ball, the only two things you’d need as a kid to have fun.
It’s a ashback to the cul-de-sac culture of a lost America, when the youth would ride bikes to the ballpark or community pool instead of hopping on Fortnite or watching YouTube. It’s a neighborhood block party. It’s a tear-jerking wave of nostalgia that carries you o like a pop- y for an hour and a half. It was my late father’s favorite movie, and one of the best gifts I inherited from him. As much as America frustrates me, I felt that “ e Sandlot” was the perfect idea of what the nation could be: a place for dreamers.
Mines pole vaulter Potrykus wins academic honors
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG
As a pole vaulter, recent Colorado School of Mines graduate Hunter Potrykus was always looking to raise the bar.
Now, he’s reached a new high point — winning the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
e conference announced Potrykus’ win in a June 24 press release, explaining how a student-athlete must maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA while participating in an RMAC-sponsored sport to be eligible.
In May 2024, Potrykus graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Mines with a 3.929 GPA. en, this May, he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with a thermal uid systems track, compiling a 4.0 GPA in the process.
According to the RMAC press release, Potrykus will be honored at the conference’s Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet July 10 in Colorado Springs.
Both the RMAC and Mines Athletics press releases said Potrykus is the third male Oredigger to receive this honor, joining distance runner Duncan Fuehne from 2023 and men’s basketball player Gokul Natesan from 2017.
Where to watch: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video
Honorable Mention:
“Shawn White: The Last Run”
Another inspiring angle on someone I consider a childhood hero, this one is a must-watch. Shawn White is a Mount Rushmore-level American athlete who put snowboarding on the biggest stage. White, a threetime Olympic gold medalist, put the country at the peak of snowboarding. His documentary not only provides an intimate look at his legacy and impact on the sport, but it also follows White as he tries one last run at the Olympics.
It’s not exactly a Fourth of July watch, but it will inspire you and give you a new lens on what it means to be an international athlete representing America.
Did I leave o your favorite summertime sports movie, perfect for the Fourth of July? Disagree with some of my choices or explanations? Email me at john@cotln.org with your thoughts and questions.
According to Mines Athletics, Potrykus joined the Mines track & eld program in fall 2020 and had a decorated career across both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
During his ve years with the Orediggers, the Berthoud, Colorado native set multiple records and earned numerous accolades, including the 2025 RMAC Men’s Indoor Academic Athlete of the Year. He was also a vetime RMAC pole vault champion — twice for outdoors and three
times for indoors.
During his nal indoor season this winter, Potrykus took fourth at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. It was his best nish at nationals and helped the Mines men’s team take home the bronze medal. It was also the team’s best-ever nish at a national meet.
For more information about Potrykus’ award or career, or to follow the Mines track & eld program, visit MinesAthletics.com.
Colorado School of Mines pole vaulter Hunter Potrykus competes at Mines’ Indoor Pre-Conference Meet in 2024. FILE PHOTO
Sparrow Street releases its second movie
‘The Silicant’ seeking distribution deals for worldwide release
BY BELEN WARD BELEN@COTLN.ORG
After their COVID-inspired nightmare lm “Sparrow Street” made a splash around the country and the world, Brighton-based lmmakers Sparrow Street Films are back with their second horrorthemed feature lm.
Sparrow Street Films hosted a private screening with family and friends of their second lm, “ e Silicant,” on June 17 at Denver’s Bug eater.
Justice Cole, executive producer and general manager, said it was good to be back at the Bug eater, the spot where their rst lm made its debut.
“ is has been a four-year journey; we had our rst private screening here, which provided valuable feedback, and we made numerous changes,” Cole said. “Now we have a nished lm, and we’re ready to get it into the market.”
He had nothing but praise for the people who made the lm happen.
“What a great, talented cast and crew! It’s a lm that holds so much meaning and depth, and we have all poured our hearts into it,” Cole said. “Being a part of it means a lot to me, and I’m excited to see where the lm will go and how these truly talented individuals will advance in their careers. It’s wonderful to be part of that creation.”
e team’s rst lm, “Sparrow Street”
was lmed in a Brighton neighborhood during the COVID-19 shutdowns and was partially a response to those claustrophobic times. e small-budget independent horror lm told the tale of a typical suburban neighborhood plunged into a nightmare as an invisible, monstrous force picks o the neighbors.
is second feature was initially titled “What We Don’t See,” but they changed the name after getting some feedback after an early screening, Cole said. “ e Silicant” tells the story of a man, Tristan, isolated in his house in the wake of a domestic assault charge.
Cole said the name “Silicant” originates from Tristan’s need to give a name to the mysterious, unseen monster.
“His self-isolating recovery is interrupted by an otherworldly force that tries to
creep into his mind… and his house,” Cole said.
Cole said they are actively seeking a distributor now, both domestically and internationally.
“We have several companies from the Cannes Film Festival and the American lm market interested in this lm,” he said.
“In the coming months, we aim to negotiate a distribution deal that will enable people worldwide to view this lm.
“Last night was a private screening. e lm won’t be ‘premiered’ until we get a distribution deal and work that out with our distributor,” Cole said.
Billy Jack, director, executive producer, and general manager, said, “I am so excited. It was a lot of fun to make.” ey are hoping their latest work follows the same path as their rst one. eir mov-
ie “Sparrow Street” won several awards across three continents. It also won the Hollywood Indie Film Award for Best Indie. It was also a semi- nalist at the Art Gira e Film Festival in Nice, France; awarded Best Feature Film at the Tuesday of Horror in Unna, Germany; and recognized as Best Feature Film at the Horror Underground Film and Screenplay Festival in Montreal, Quebec.
e lm also received an exceptional merit award and a best actress award at the Nature Without Borders International Festival in Lewes, Delaware, and earned six awards at the Depth of Field International Festival in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. e lm was screened at the Budapest Movie Award Festival in Hungary and the Kosice International Film Festival in Kosice, Slovakia. For information about Sparrow Street Films, visit: https://sparrowstreet lms. com.
WORSHIP DIRECTORY
BERGEN PARK CHURCH
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
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
Sta , production crew, and actors from Sparrow Street Films who contributed to the making of the film. PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD
Billy Jack, director, executive producer, and general manager, along with Justice Cole, executive producer and general manager, thanked the crew, family and friends for coming.
Eye in the sky proves critical for Sheri safety
BY CHRISTOPHER KOEBERL CHRIS@COTLN.ORG
State-of-the-art drone technology controlled by the eyes and touch of highlytrained operators within the Clear Creek County Sheri ’s department has forever changed the eld of operation for rescue, law enforcement and critical safety missions in the mountains.
It’s been about three years to the day when Deputy Sheri Bradley Stepter took his oath and started his post with the sheri ’s department.
When he did, he brought an idea for the department moving forward.
“When I got hired, I was like ‘Hey, I own a drone, I love drones. Is there a possibility to implement that here?’” Stepter said.
Initial skepticism about the program was eventually replaced with encouragement within the department, according to Stepter.
at’s when the drone program literally took o , Stepter said.
Now, the sheri ’s department has two licensed drone pilots, Stepter and Sgt. Nick Aab, who can control any one of the three drones the sheri ’s department owns and maintains.
e three aircraft are each designated by size for speci c missions and each has its’ own nickname:
e largest, with capabilities to reach altitudes of up to 14,000 feet, is “ under Brick,” according to pilots.
e medium-sized craft “Sparrow” can
look above and beyond what human rescue resources can see, thanks to thermal imagery. at kind of perspective would take hours to locate on foot, rescuers said.
“It really takes down that time, that critical time trying to gure out if someone is injured, possibly on their last breath, we’re able to nd them a lot faster,” Stepter said. e smallest drone, “Fire y,” can land on a piece of paper but is able to maneu-
ver in ways that boggle the mind.
Fire y, with the operators’ command, can y inside a house or structure, room by room.
“Precision controlling, we have a set of goggles that allows you to view in real time where the drone is and what it’s seeing. en a motion controller gives me millimeter precision that I’m able to navigate going through a doorway, under
tables, under chairs, over dressers, whatever have you,” Stepter said.
Training and obtaining licensing as a drone pilot at this level requires approval by the Federal Aviation Administration. A “Part 107 FAA Certi cation” exam must be passed for a pilot to earn a license to y.
Stepter said, with his training and homework, he was able to pass the exam on the rst attempt.
However, “It’s a pretty tough test,” he said.
Special exemptions for ight area, height and maneuvering are a orded to law enforcement – as long as the pilots have maintained all of their FAA drone certi cations.
Perhaps the most signi cant advantage to a drone resource, both pilots Stepter and Aab said, is the opportunity to put technology in the place of what would otherwise require a human resource.
“We’re able to assist the SWAT team, we can actually y it into buildings in front of SWAT team members and it can clear rooms faster than sending someone in. I’d rather send in a piece of technology as opposed to someone who could get hurt,” Aab said.
Simply for the fun of it, or to gain hours and experience as a pilot, Stepter had another idea to get the community interactively involved in the sheri ’s drone program.
Look for it on Facebook. It’s a weekly challenge posted on Mondays for locals to locate “Where the Drone was Flown”.
Random photos and videos will be posted, with the winners identifying the location of the shot earning a CCSO Challenge Coin.
One of three drones operated by licensed pilots with the Clear Creek Sheri ’s Department. CHRIS KOEBERL
CROWSSUPDRO
1. TELEVISION: What is the name of the bar where Homer Simpson hangs out?
2. MUSIC: What are the rst names of the Jackson 5?
3. MOVIES: What prop is found in almost every scene in “ e Fight Club”?
4. ANATOMY: What does the term “hallux” refer to in human anatomy?
5. GEOMETRY: What is the perimeter of a circle called?
6. LITERATURE: What is Ron Weasley’s patronus in the “Harry Potter” book series?
7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How many tusks does a warthog have?
8. GEOGRAPHY: How many states does the Paci c Crest Trail cross?
9. SCIENCE: What is a common name for iron oxide?
10. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president was awarded the Distinguished Flying
TrIVIa
Cross for bravery in WWII?
Answers
1. Moe’s Tavern.
2. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael.
3. A Starbucks co ee cup.
4. e big toe.
5. Circumference.
6. Jack Russell Terrier.
7. Four.
8. ree (California, Oregon, and Washington).
9. Rust.
10. George H.W. Bush. (c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.
REAL ESTATE
PRINCIPAL
them, [and] made disparaging remarks about them in front of parents, students and other sta members.”
“Teachers don’t quit students,” she wrote. “Teachers don’t quit schools. ey quit bad leadership.”
During Berninzoni’s nal years at NAS, annual teacher turnover consistently exceeded 45%, peaking at 55.6% in the 2019–20 school year. Rates remained high through 2022 before declining to 28 percent in 2023–24.
Berninzoni pushed back on those allegations, describing himself as a collaborative and responsive leader who values diverse voices and fosters sta development.
“As a principal, building a workplace that fosters a sense of belonging and provides each sta member with the opportunity to bring their talents together in support of student success is a high value of mine,” he said.
Berninzoni acknowledged the school’s turnover ranged from 21% to 55% during his tenure but said those numbers re ect the industry average for alternative education campuses.
Allegations of toxic leadership
Schwabauer, who worked closely with Berninzoni in the early years of the school, described him as a “narcissist” who frequently made inappropriate comments and punished sta for minor infractions.
When she was pregnant and asked to attend her son’s classroom birthday party, she said Berninzoni told her it would trigger her FMLA leave. She later went on bed
rest due to complications and never returned to NAS.
“He would say things like ‘family comes rst’ but then retaliate if you acted on it,” Schwabauer said. “He made it impossible to work there.”
A former social science teacher who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation said she resigned after Berninzoni directed her to “teach both sides” of whether being gay is a choice.
She recalled him entering her classroom, asking students what they were learning, and then criticizing the idea that sexual orientation is biologically based.
“He told me I had to teach that being gay is probably a choice,” she said. “I couldn’t work for someone who said that.”
She and others also allege that Berninzoni made inappropriate sexual comments to sta . One counselor, they said, led a sexual harassment complaint that reportedly resulted in a legal settlement and nondisclosure agreement.
Berninzoni said he is unaware of any sexual harassment complaints against him resulting in legal settlements during his time at New America School.
Student accounts echo sta concerns
For some former students, the culture under Berninzoni was just as troubling.
Kenia, who asked that her last name not be used and who graduated from New America School–Lakewood in 2014, said her early experience in the school’s night program was positive until she transitioned to the day schedule, where Berninzoni was more present.
“He wasn’t around much at night,” she said. “But once I moved to daytime classes, it was completely di erent.”
Kenia said she frequently overheard Ber-
PUBLIC NOTICES
Publisher: Canyon Courier
Public Notice
NOTICE OF FINAL PAYMENT
Bids received by the submittal deadline will be publicly opened and read at 2:30 PM local time via Zoom. A Zoom link can be found in the Bidding Documents.
The Project includes the following Work: Replacement of approximately 1,200 square feet metal bridge planks with side dams, repair of disconnected cross bracing, cleaning and painting of superstructure, and placement of asphalt pavement.
Bids are requested for the following Contract: Clear Creek County Contract for RC 25-04 Silver Lake Bridge Repair
Obtaining the Bidding Documents Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found on the following designated website: https://www.clearcreekcounty.us/bids.aspx
Prospective Bidders must register as a plan holder via email to receive a copy of the plans, a link to the Prospective Bidder Submittal Folder, and invitations to meetings and bid opening: Email sstreepey@clearcreekcounty.us; subject line RC 25-04 RFB.
Prospective Bidders are urged to sign up to receive a text message or email when new Bidding Documents are periodically uploaded to the designated website such as addenda, reports, and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project by clicking “Sign up” at the top of the webpage.
All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the designated website and the Prospective Bidder Submittal Folder. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from sources other than the designated website or Prospective Bidder Submittal Folder.
Pre-bid Conference
A virtual pre-bid conference for the Project will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. Attendance at the pre-bid conference is encouraged but not required.
Instructions to Bidders For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.
Legal Notice No. CAN 1985 First Publication: June 26, 2025 Last Publication: July 3, 2025
ninzoni questioning why teachers were helping Latino students, particularly undocumented ones, with college planning.
“He said things like, ‘Why are you spending so much time on those kids when there are others who could go to better schools?’” she said. “By ‘others,’ he meant white students.”
Kenia described the experience as isolating and demoralizing, despite her academic success.
“I was at the top of my class, but he’d still praise other students who looked the way he wanted us to look,” she said. “I used to hide during lunch just to avoid him.”
Another student, Mario Hernandez, attended NAS before Kenia and said he saw the same patterns.
“He treated students like we didn’t belong,” Hernandez said. “He’d tell people not to touch his car because it was too expensive, and he acted like he didn’t want to be there.”
Hernandez said Berninzoni belittled students in front of others and talked down to sta .
“He’s not the kind of person who should be in charge of a school,” Hernandez said. “He shouldn’t be in charge of anything.”
Another former student, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her immigrant status, said Berninzoni discouraged her and others from even trying.
“On my rst day of orientation, he told the group of us that if we didn’t graduate the rst time around, we were never going to make it at all and that we were wasting our time going to ‘his school,’” she said. e student later became the class speaker at graduation, but said Berninzoni didn’t recognize her name or face that morning.
“He had no idea who I was,” she said. “He
families within the County. The program administrator will be responsible for designing and managing a fair and transparent scholarship award process, tracking disbursements, and pursuing supplemental funding sources to support and expand the program.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Roxborough Water and Sanitation District of Douglas and Jefferson County, Colorado, will make final payment at the offices of Roxborough Water and Sanitation District, 6222 N. Roxborough Road, Littleton, CO 80125, on or after 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 16, 2025, to J.R. Filanc Construction Company, Inc. for all work done by said Contractor on the Pump Station Improvements construction contract, all of said construction located at the Roxborough Water and Sanitation District, Zone 2 Pump Station (6549 Rampart Range Road, Littleton, Colorado 80125), Zone 3 Pump Station (10909 Roxborough Drive, Littleton, Colorado 80125) and Zone 4 Pump Station (10589 Mossrock Run, Littleton, Colorado 80125) in Douglas County, State of Colorado.
Any person, co-partnership, association of persons, company or corporation that has furnished labor, materials, provisions, or other supplies used or consumed by such Contractor or his subcontractors in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done and whose claim therefore has not been paid by the Contractor or his Subcontractor, at any time up to and including the time of final settlement for the work contracted to be done, is required to file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim to the Roxborough Water and Sanitation District, 6222 N. Roxborough Road, Littleton, CO 80125, at or before the time and date herein above shown. Failure on the part of any claimant to file such verified statement will release said Roxborough Water and Sanitation District, its Board of Directors, officers, agents, and employees, of and from any and all liability for such claim.
ROXBOROUGH WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT
By: Mike Marcum, General Manager
Legal Notice No. Can 1986
First Publication: June 26, 2025
Last Publication: July 3, 2025
Publisher: Canyon Courier
Public Notice
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CHILDCARE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM ADMINSTRATION 405 Argentine Street Georgetown, CO 80444
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL
SUBMISSION: JULY 18, 2025, at 4:00 p.m
PURPOSE Clear Creek County is soliciting proposals from qualified entities to manage and administer a childcare scholarship program for eligible
just BS’d his way through a speech to make himself look better.”
“I never asked him for anything,” she added. “He made you feel like a complete idiot if you did. We went through so much, and he made it worse. e only reason I graduated was because of the teachers. ey believed in us when he didn’t.”
In response to student concerns, Berninzoni said he has deep respect for all the families and students he has served and pointed to a recent Colorado Department of Education diagnostic survey, which found that students at NAS–Lakewood generally felt safe and welcomed.
He also noted his long-standing personal and professional ties to South America as a re ection of his appreciation for diverse communities.
District responds
e district stated it had no knowledge of past complaints about Berninzoni or allegations during the vetting process.
“We rely on o cial channels and veried information during our hiring procedures,” a spokesperson said. “His references expressed con dence in his abilities as a principal and highly recommended him for the role at McLain.”
e district believes the allegations stem from three disgruntled employees who were disappointed with the outcome of an unsuccessful attempt in 2022 to unionize.
“We understand that three former New America School educators unsuccessfully attempted to unionize the school and were disappointed with the outcome,” the district said. “It is our understanding that the concerns you’ve raised stem from this experience; we acknowledge these experiences and they do not change our hiring decision.”
ing to standardized criteria including:
1.Equity and inclusion in service delivery
2.Financial and operational feasibility
3.Alignment with Clear Creek County strategic priorities
4.Ability to deliver measurable outcomes
4. Monitoring and Reporting
A County Human Services staff member must be seated on the selection committee to ensure alignment with human services goals and policies.
Only applicants who meet the eligibility and selection criteria for administering scholarships may be awarded. The program manager may not award scholarships to its own organization or staff or any affiliated entity.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Clear Creek County is launching a childcare scholarship program to help working families afford high-quality early learning opportunities for their children. The program is funded through a combination of County Lodging Tax revenue and other public funds, and is designed to directly support families by reducing out-of-pocket childcare costs.
The County seeks a qualified administrator to manage this scholarship program. The administrator will be responsible for developing a transparent application process, verifying eligibility, distributing scholarship awards directly to approved providers on behalf of families, and tracking outcomes and spending. Additionally, the administrator is expected to actively seek other funding sources to supplement County dollars, including contributions from participating municipalities, philanthropic organizations, or state/federal sources.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The successful proposer will be responsible for the following activities related to the administration of a childcare scholarship program:
1. Scholarship Program Design:
• Develop a transparent and fair application process for eligible childcare providers
Establish eligibility and selection criteria with input from County staff and community stakeholders
• Ensure application, award, and compliance processes are accessible and culturally responsive
2. Selection Process & Committee Coordination
•Assemble and convene a scoring committee composed of no fewer than five members, including one (1) designated representative from the Clear Creek County Human Services
Department
•Ensure all scoring decisions and funding recommendations are based on standardized criteria approved by the County
•Prohibit any applicant or financially interested entity from serving on the scoring panel
Solicitation and Evaluation
3. Application
Publicly post a call for applications for
childcare support projects
Receive, vet, and score proposals accord-
•Execute subgrantee agreements (subject to County legal review)
•Monitor project performance and financial compliance
•Submit mid-year and end-of-year reports to the County, including disbursement summaries, performance indicators, and qualitative feedback
• Retain and make available all program records for County audit or inspection for at least three years after program closeout
The deadline for submitting a proposal is 4:00 p.m. MST, Friday, July 18, 2025.
A full copy of this Request for Proposals can be found here: https://www.clearcreekcounty.us/bids.aspx
Pursuant to C.R.S. Section 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on the 22nd day of July 2025 final settlement will be made by the County of Jefferson, State of Colorado to:
C R CONTRACTING LLC
64435 STRICKLER AVE. SUITE 100 LONGMONT, CO 80501
hereinafter called the “Contractor”, for and on account of the contract for the Fog seal of Runway 12R-30L and connecting taxiways project in Jefferson County,
1. Any person, co-partnership, association or corporation who has an unpaid claim against the said project, for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender or other supplies used or consumed by such Contractor or any of said work, may at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement, file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of
