LOCAL

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The folks behind Brighton’s latest supplier for salon-quality personal and beauty products say it’s even more convenient.

The Brighton Kohl’s store, at 2425 Praire Center Parkway, opened a new Sephora inside April 29, creating a one-shop place to purchase classic and emerging brands of make-up, skins care, hair care and fragrances including gifts and tools and brushes as well as clothing.

“I’m blown away and it looks amazing. It’s drawing in lots of extra customers, we look forward to what we can do as it becomes more established,” said Paul Ashbacher Kohl’s Store Manager.

The sales team cutting the ribbon at the new Sephora store, left Sasha Mauser, Alex Maestas, Sierra Bennett Team Leader, Al-

lison Swarr, and Fonda McFarlin. BELEN WARD

TAXPAYERS

coming now because Coloradans are being hit by skyrocketing rent costs, diffi culty buying homes, infl ating childcare costs and higher gas and food prices.

“Instead of the government sitting on the money, we want to make sure we get it back to people now,” Polis said. “Rather than sit on this money, we know the $400 will help people now.”

While $400 would certainly help, many Coloradans interviewed Monday by Rocky Mountain PBS said the $400 may not go as far as it used to, as infl ation has hit the entire country hard the last several months.

“It’s better than not having an extra $400, but it doesn’t go far enough,” said Thomas Law, a Denver resident and a service worker at Union Station. “It’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, as an adult in Denver.” Law said his rent is about $1,600, which is a price he would have expected to pay in New York City, but did not feel it was warranted in Denver. As a full-time restaurant server, Law said tips are his most reliable source of income, and with increasing costs of food, his restaurant has seen fewer visitors than it used to. Those who do patronize the restaurant often tip less than they once did, Law added.

“We heavily rely on people coming in and buying things and tipping, and with everything getting more expensive, people are coming less often and they’re tipping less often,” Law said. “It’s defi nitely an issue and I think something needs to change.”

Others said they would take the $400 as a small victory, even if it wouldn’t cover much.

“Being a teacher, we get summers off and I like to do some little trips, but I’m thinking it’s not going to happen this year because gas is so expensive,” said Diane Hopkins, a Thornton resident who works with adults with disabilities. “I could probably go get myself some nice fl owers, though.”

Though the money may not be much, Logan Gunnum, a Denver resident who is unsheltered and saddled with medical debt, said it would be a lifeline for him.

“The fi rst thing I would do is make sure I had a steady place to live, and that way I could get the rest of my life sorted out,” Gunnum said. “They talk about how there are all of these different services and things for people in my position, but there really isn’t.”

Coloradans can expect the money to be sent to the address they used to fi ll out their taxes.

Garnett

in Denver.” about $1,600, which is a price he would have expected to pay in New York City, but did not feel it was warranted in Denver.

Sometimes magnet schools have an academic or program focus that is of particular interest to some people.”

The new school in the Reunion section of Commerce City is Southlawn Elementary School, 10075 Walden St. Asmus said construction is in two phases.

Reunion bonus

“The first phase is what we refer to as a ‘bonus’ project, which means we saved enough money through our fiscal management process that we are able to build half a new school without raising any taxes and we’re giving our community more than we promised,” Asmus said. “Phase II of that school is being built. It’ll open in the fall, and it’s in the Southlawn neighborhood of Reunion.”

Southlawn is a PreK-5 school and will be a traditional neighborhood school. The principal is Candice Reece, the former principal at Thimmig Elementary school. The hiring process is underway. The community decided on the school mascot (Bumble Bees) and its colors are blue and green.

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This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofi t public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

EAGLE VIEWADULT CENTER

1150 Prairie Center Parkway • Brighton, CO 80601 • 303-655-2075 • www.brightonco.gov

Eagle View Adult Center Update – May 4 -11 , 2022 Eagle View Adult Center is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Call 303-655-2075 for more information. e May and June Newsletter is available. Cards, Games and Pool If you like to play games like bridge, pinochle, dominos, scrabble and pool… Eagle View is the place to get connected. Check out the newsletter for playing times. VOA Lunch A hot, nutritious lunch is provided by Volunteers of America, Mondays and ursdays at 11:30 a.m. Please reserve your VOA meal in advance: For Mondays reserve the ursday before, for ursdays reserve the Monday before.! Call Eleanor at 303-655-2271 between 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Mon. & urs. Daily meal donations are appreciated. $2.50 Donation per meal if age 60+ $8.50 Mandatory charge if under 60 Zoom Membership You will need to purchase a Zoom membership to participate online. Purchasing a membership will give you access to all EVAC’s programs that are being o ered on Zoom for two months. Only Zoom members will receive the E-Blast with links. May & June Membership $20 Deadline: Ongoing Blood Pressure Screening e re ghters from the Brighton Fire Department will perform FREE blood pressure checks. urs. May 5 @ 10:30 a.m. Movie: e Way An American father travels to France to retrieve the body of his estranged son, who died while attempting the pilgrimage to Spain’s Santiago de Compostela. He resolves to take the journey himself, in an e ort to understand both himself and his son. PG. 1 hr/36min. Please register. 1:00 p.m. Fri. May 6 Deadline: urs. May 5 Bunco Mondays Bunco is an easy and fun game of dice. Enjoy an a ernoon of fun, laughter, and prizes. 12:30 p.m. Monday May 9 $4 Deadline: Wed. before Feathered Friends: Red-Shouldered Hawk Anne Price of the Raptor Education Foundation will bring a red-shouldered hawk.. is diminutive hawk hunts mammals, birds, and aquatic prey and is known for its territorial call which sounds like a car alarm. 1:00 p.m. Tues. May 10 $5 Deadline: Fri. May 6

To Schedule a Virtual Tour or for more info call Nellie at: 303-659-4148

year. It’s the most automated block plant in North America, equipped with the latest technology, he said.

“Basalite building products is very excited to be part of the Fort Lupton / Weld County Community,”’ Joe Kerrigan, Basalite’s general manager, said. “Our interactions with the City of Fort Lupton and members of the community have exceeded our expectations. We are excited to grow within the community and for what the future holds for our continued partnerships.”

California-based Basalite is a wholesaler that sells to hardware stores across the western U.S. and Canada, including Home Depot. The company purchased 60 acres of land north of Fort Lupton and began constructing the plant in 2019. They completed in February 2021.

But the company’s in-house testing lab, design molding, repair and welding shop are all housed in the Fort Lupton operation. They make the blocks used in building, landscaping and architecture. Those can include pavers for walks and patios, blocks for retaining walls or concrete masonry for buildings.

The testing lab tests compression crushing strength tests on concrete blocks by placing them in a testing machine that measures the force needed to crush them. And also do testing on aggregate density, moisture, and color variations.

“These tests are done to see if we are meeting our specks required standards that we adhere to on strength, durability and aesthetics and we also test colors too,” said Brad Vetting, quality control manufacture engineer.

The welding and repair shops are responsible for maintaining and repairing the block molds, Walton said.

“The mold shop designs the mold for the different sizes of concrete blocks and bricks. They also weld and repair the molds because they wear down,” said Walton.

Building blocks

The plant has giant hoppers that store the sand and gravel inside and hoppers outside, holding many different colors of sand.

“Our work is done inside, so we do not deal with the weather, so we continue to work all year round. The outside of the plant is used for storage. We also have dust control emissions, so sand piles are not in the plant,” said Walton.

They have two enormous machines from France, one called a Bisser, and the other called a Quadra. The machines shake and compress the material to make blocks before they are kiln-dried and cured. It’s deafeningly noisy, so each machine is secured in soundproof rooms.

Next is the two-story Kiln room that cures the blocks with a robot moving ceiling-high stacks of blocks through once they are cured via a conveyor belt. As the blocks are on a conveyor belt, employees inspect them for perfection. If a block comes out with some imperfections, it is put into a large bin and re-used for by-products; nothing gets wasted. They produce wet casts too.

The finished blocks move along to robots with arms in each area that moves heavy stacks of concrete blocks, cutting, flipping, and handing over blocks to the next robot and placing them on conveyors belts. One last robot wraps them and packages the final products for shipping.

An employee oversees all the robots in the control room using interlocking touch screen computers to program the robots, as well as to monitor all the systems and do maintenance.

“We are expanding to a sevenday operation and looking to hire folks,” Walton said.

Basalite Concrete is at 1801 So. Rollie Avenue, Fort Lupton, CO 80621. For more information, call 303 292-2345 and visit the website for products and open positions at www.baselite.com.

Brad Vetting, quality control manufacture engineer is putting the concrete block in

place to test for strength, durability and aesthetics. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Joseph Tafoya is a dry side operator also inspecting concrete block and using a com-

puter. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Sergio Vasquez is a dry side lead inspecting the concrete blocks for perfec-

tion. PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD

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BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Weld Re-8 school district students performed Ballet Folklorico at the Fort Lupton Library on April 29. The students were from elementary, middle school, and high school.

The Ballet Folklorico dance is a cultural tradition of people’s beliefs from different Mexican regions, symbolic of life and spirit through movement with music and elaborate costumes.

The Weld Re-8 school district students performing the Ballet Folklorico traditional cultural dance that is colorful and is highly choreographed.

The girls performing the Mexican dance of “LaBruja” from the state of Veracruz. The girls perform with candles on their head representing the life of the people in a fi shing town.

Spring Fling Celebration

Come to Inglenook to brighten up our courtyard as we get ready for summer. Stop by with some annuals/perennials to plant with our seniors and stay for lunch! Hot Dogs, chips and sodas will be available. Soft serve ice cream cones too!

Where:

Inglenook at Brighton 2195 E. Egbert St. Brighton Co 80601 When:

Saturday, May 14th 2022 Time:

11:00am-2:00pm This is a free event!

The students dressed as charros are dancing a Mexican Folk dance. PHOTO BY ELEN WARD

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We all have hills to climb

Many years ago, there was a video out, I believe it was produced by Hungry Man Dinners. And the title was the NFL’s Hungriest Men. One of the featured athletes was my favorite player that I had the opportunity and blessing to watch play the game, Walter Payton. Although I was a Minnesota Vikings fan and he was a Chicago Bear, meaning we were rivals, he was just too good and a very special man and player.

Walter could run around a defender, juking his way down the fi eld. Walter could also run through and over a defender regardless of size, he was fast, strong, and elusive. His nickname was “Sweetness.” So well deserved as it was truly sweet to watch him play. He was also a very caring man, but that was not how he earned the nickname sweetness. The story is that during a college football practice he eluded a would-be tackler and yelled back at him, “Sweetness is your weakness.”

In the video I am referring to, they captured a part of Walter’s workout routine, running hills. If any of you reading this remember your high school or college playing days, you remember we ran hills and we ran bleachers. The agony was dreaded, but the payoff worth every step up the hill or stairs. Here is Walter Payton, recognized as the greatest or one of the greatest to ever play the game. How did he get there? He climbed hills.

Right now, we are all climbing hills and we either recognize it and climb no matter how tired we are, or we give up, letting the hill win. If we give in, just like the “house” always wins in a casino, the hill will always win too.

And I know for some of us, the hill seems more like a mountain than it does a hill. And as we look ahead at what seems like a mountain instead of a hill, this could mean that we see ourselves in a valley, and we can easily become discouraged. When I have been there myself, I lean into this quote by Fred Smith, “The fruit we grow in the valleys of despair is the food we will eat on the mountaintop.”

In the past two columns I shared how changing our thoughts and/or our actions will change the outcome of anything we are endeavoring to do. And sometimes, no matter how positive we keep our thoughts, or the effort or actions we apply, there are times when we need to tap into those extra reserves of positivity and effort to reach the outcome we desire most, so we climb the hill.

Whatever our hill is, our faith, our family, our friends, our fi tness or health, or our fi nances, we must keep climbing. We can climb harder to grow deeper in faith. We can climb with more commitment to our family and friends. We can climb farther when it comes to our fi tness and health. And when it comes to our fi nances we can climb with greater discretion in our savings and spending.

Climbing the hills and going deeper in faith; get back into regularly attending church, participate in a Bible study or devotional group. Climbing with more commitment to our family and friends; make it a point to check in more often and be intentional about spending time together. Climbing the hill to achieve greater health and fi tness; walk, get to the gym, make better eating, drinking, and sleeping decisions. Climbing the hill fi nancially with greater discretion in savings and spending; create a savings plan, set a budget, stick to that budget, and maybe read one of Dave Ramsey’s books starting with “Total Money Makeover.”

What’s your hill? I know that whatever it is, you have the climb within you. As always, I would love to hear your story at mnorton@xinnix.com. And when we remember that we can climb our way to achieving our goals and dreams, it really will be a better than good year.

WINNING WORDS

Michael Norton

Michael Norton is the grateful President of XINNIX, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

Heat pumps warms home in chilly Fraser

The coldest temperature this winter at the new home of Joe Smyth and Kristen Taddonio was 17 below. They live in Fraser, the Colorado town that used to get far, far colder.

Still, that February night was cold enough to test the design and technologies employed in the construction of the couple’s 1,176-square-foot house. They are insulated carefully, of course, and have solar panels. Even after charging their electric car, their house produces more energy than it consumes.

An air-source heat pump was central to their mission in creating a net-zero home, one gutted of emissions from fossil fuels. It extracts heat from outside, even on chilly nights, to warm the interior

The Mitsubishi model used at the Fraser house promises to deliver the necessary indoor heat even when outside temperatures dip to 13 below. To supplement the air-source heat pump should temperatures dive to 30 below, as was once common, the couple also installed electrical-resistance heating. It wasn’t needed.

Colorado needs many more air-source heat pumps — and fewer carbon emissions from buildings — to meet its midcentury decarbonization target goals of 90%.

Getting this right during housing construction costs less in the not-very-long term. Building permits for 48,200 housing units, both singlefamily and multifamily, were issued last year, according to the Colorado Business Economic Outlook. That’s like adding a new Greeley each year along with a few small towns.

Retrofitting our older buildings is laborious and expensive. I know, because my house was built in 1889. You don’t swap out buildings the way you would computers or cars.

Several bills working their way through the Colorado Legislature this spring would nudge Coloradans toward low- and no-carbon technologies. All cost more upfront but save money, sometimes lots of it, over time, while reducing or eliminating emissions.

Carrots would be offered by SB22-051 to those who purchase air- and groundsource heat pumps. Purchasers would be allowed income-tax exemptions of up to 10% of the purchase price.

Other provisions in the bill approved by the House Energy and Environment Committee offer tax incentives for energy storage and building materials with low levels of embodied carbon.

Christine Brinker, representing the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, testified that her family’s air-source heat pump paid for itself in six years because of lower energy costs. Air-source heat pumps help residents of Geos, a project in Arvada, to pay as little as $6 a month in energy costs.

“It is just more efficient to move heat than to create heat,” said Rep. Mike Weissman, a Democrat from Louisville and a bill supporter. “I think we can do some good here by amending that pay-off time curve just a little bit. That’s something that we need to do to facilitate our transition” from fossil fuels.

Air-source heat pumps can also move heat from inside buildings during summer, effectively becoming air conditioners. Even in Winter Park, real estate buyers expect air conditioning.

The second bill, HB-1362, would require towns, cities, and counties to adopt the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code before 2025. This latest code advances efficiency 8% to 9% compared to the 2018 iteration.

Natural gas will still be allowed, but air-source heat pumps more efficiently meet the 2021 code’s elevated standards.

The Colorado Municipal League objected to the loss of local control. Two representatives of rural areas described it as onerous for small towns despite $3 million earmarked for training. Homebuilders argued that the advanced standards would make already expensive housing less affordable.

Howard Geller, representing the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, cited a study from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that found the latest code would indeed add $200 to the cost of an average mortgage in Colorado built to this latest code. Lower energy costs will more than recoup that extra cost, he said, even in the first year.

Rep. Tracey Bernett, a Democrat from Longmont whose district includes nearly half the 1,084 homes destroyed by the Marshall Fire, said she sponsored the bill with full confidence it will help, not harm, her constituents.

These bills both moved from the House committee on strictly party-line votes, with Democrats in support. A third bill, HB22-1381, has bipartisan sponsors — and bipartisan support. It would allocate $20 million for grants to further geothermal development by tapping the year-round heat of 55 degrees found 8 to 10 feet below the surface.

As with air-source heat pumps, sponsors said the market needs to be nudged to adopt technology that costs more upfront than installing natural gas infrastructure but pays off in the long term. “This is something we don’t do enough of,” said Rep. Hugh McKean, a Republican from Loveland, who is installing geothermal in a house he is constructing.

“I really like this bill,” said Perry Will, a Republican from New Castle, citing the experiences of family members with the technology at Rulison and elsewhere.

GUEST COLUMN Allen Best

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots. See more at bigpivots.com.

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