Canyon Courier 030923

Students and their families visited the downtown Evergreen gallery on Feb. 5 during an open house to proudly show their work. Wilmot art teacher Elisabeth Marcus stood by to welcome her students and to talk about their art, adding that she loved this art show.

Elk Run bus takes first road trip

Residents now able to travel in accessible vehicle

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

While it may sound a bit corny, Elk Run Assisted Living is ready to take residents “on the road again.” e Evergreen facility purchased a used bus that seats 11 and has room for ve wheelchairs, so all residents can go on outings, shopping and sightseeing, something that has been much more di cult since the pandemic.

Executive Director Kristen Fite said excursions stopped during the pandemic, and then the facility’s bus broke down and needed to go to “bus heaven.” e facility, which is a nonpro t, began raising money to purchase another bus.

e bus already is equipped with seats and a wheelchair lift — everything needed to get all residents no matter how mobility impaired out and about again.

Sta members said for the past three years, some residents felt trapped at the building because they couldn’t join fellow residents on outings.

SEE BUS, P6

"It’ssoimportanttodosomethingeverydaythatwill makeyouhappy."

~BobRoss

NOWSERVING EVERGREEN, CONIFER, BAILEYAND PINE $2.00

Sisters Ellie, 5, and Cici, 3, Dicerbo check out some of the artwork in “The Kids Are Back” art show at Shadow Mountain Gallery in downtown Evergreen. Ellie, a kindergartner at Bergen Meadow, has a piece displayed in the show.

PHOTOS BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

Axel Riggi, a fourth grader at Wilmot Elementary, showed his artwork at “The Kids Are Back” art show at Shadow Mountain Gallery. The show will be available for viewing until March 26.

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Evergreen’s Tom Ware leaves behind a lasting art legacy

naissance man.

While most of Evergreen would know Tom as a sculptor and artist, he also was a geologist, a veteran, a

surface.

Tom died Sept. 10, 2022, at his Evergreen home at the age of 94. He lost his wife of 57 years, Maryanna

(“Monk”), in 2008, and leaves behind daughters Laura and Cate, four grandchildren and a great-grandson.

He was a man of many interests and abilities, his family and friends said. Tom and Monk made wine, beer and pickles and loved to make green chile. Tom was an avid y sherman, played softball and baseball, and was an amateur genealogist. Tom was an opera fan, loved to tell stories and to joke, was curious about almost everything, was well-read, would eat anything except broccoli, and loved to sail. He was a lovable curmudgeon with a bone-crushing handshake who liked anchovies on pizza. He also knew almost everything about Colorado’s wild owers and mushrooms.

“Anything he believed in, he did with a lot of gusto,” daughter Laura said.

Some history

omas Ware III was born in Kansas City, Missouri, along with brothers Dick and Harry, and attended the Kansas City Art Institute, where his love of art began and he became known for his cartoon drawings. He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, earning a master’s degree in geology. He lived in the Kappa Sigma fraternity house; a fraternity brother was Mort Walker, known for creating the comic strip Beetle Bailey.

Tom worked as a roughneck in the oil elds in Oklahoma, Wyoming and Colorado, and later became a consulting geologist in Denver, working to discover oil that included map-making endeavors, a successful career for about 35 years.

Tom and his family moved to Evergreen in 1961 and immediately got involved in the community.

Artful legacy

“He was really the leading arts personality in Evergreen for many, many years,” said Steve Sumner, a past executive director of Center for the Arts Evergreen. “He was the

motivation for the beginning of the arts center and also gathering a lot of the sculpture that you saw on the arts center property.”

Tom worked to secure two Center for the Arts Evergreen gallery spaces: the rst next to the Buchanan Park Rec Center and its current location in the former Bergen Park Church.

He was the inspiration for Art for the Mountain Community, now known as Sculpture Evergreen, and he also has three sculptures as part of Sculpture Evergreen’s permanent collection: “Planting Evergreen” at the library, “Kelle III” at the Evergreen Lake House and “Russ Colburn and Dog” in Bergen Park.

In 1979, Tom built a studio at his home open to sculptors and sketch artists who found their way to its inner circle known as the Warehouse Gang. ey met weekly until the pandemic to sculpt together, using live models, to enhance their skills and learn from the master.

In his earlier days in Evergreen, Tom created works of art that led to being an invited participant in the Denver Own Your Own Show at the Denver Art Museum.

“He was extremely creative, especially in his later years,” said Christine Go , who grew up with daughters Laura and Cate. “I can remember him telling me he always was about his art. But he was a geologist. I asked why he didn’t do art before, and he said, ‘Because I have a family, and I had to choose a career that I could support my family.’”

Go said he approached everything, including art, from a scienti c or academic position.

“My dad was not only an artist, but he was a true student of art,” said daughter Laura, who lived with her dad for the past 15 years in their home near Evergreen Lake. “Not only what Rodin did and how

Tom Ware works on a sculpture in his home studio.

COURTESY PHOTOS Tom and his wife of 57 years, Maryanna (“Monk”).

EXHIBIT

FROM PAGE 1

Parents said they were proud their students’ work was displayed along with artwork created by professional artists in the gallery.

Shadow Mountain has displayed elementary school artwork each March — Youth Art month —since 1993, when only two schools participated, according to Don Fairchild, a member of the gallery. Wilmot, Parmalee, Marshdale, King-Murphy, Bergen Meadow and Bergen Valley are represented because elementary school art teachers want a local place to display their students’ work, Fairchild said.

It’s called “ e Kids Are Back” because the show was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic.

Fairchild explained that the elementary school art show was important because it helped children develop an interest in creative work, especially because the show gives them a place to show others their hard work.

He emphasized that the art show was not a contest, and awards are purposely not given for rst, second and third place; instead, it’s a show to celebrate art.

Wilmot fourth grader Axel Riggi explained the abstract landscape he

made inside an air pod case using markers and a type of clay to create the three-dimensional view.

“ ey learned to think outside of the box,” Marcus said. “ is assignment was all about abstract art.”

Mom Stephanie Riggi called the art show incredible, noting that it was nice for the young artists to see their work alongside that of local professionals.

“ is is great for their self esteem,” she said. “ ey produced incredible pieces.”

Marshdale third grader Madelyn Bruchez created a colorful pop-out unicorn using part of an egg carton for the head, adding that she liked unicorns and art.

Mom Adriana Bruchez was excited both that her daughter was in the art show and that Madelyn has taken such an interest in art. Adriana’s great-grandmother was an artist, so Adriana gures Madelyn inherited that artistic ability.

Kindergartner Ellie Dicerbo, who says she loves pink and rainbows, created a pink and blue chalk pastel drawing.

“I love art because it makes me happy and it’s super fun and colorful,” Ellie explained.

Ellie viewed the artwork created by other students with her sister Cici, 3.

“I’m really proud to see her work in a gallery,” Ellie’s mom Jamie Way said. “(Art is) all they do at home.”

As

Families stop by the open house at Shadow Mountain Gallery to look at the artwork from six area elementary schools.

Madelyn Bruchez, a third grader at Marshdale Elementary, shows her pop-out unicorn. PHOTOS BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

Ellie Dicerbo, a kindergartner at Bergen Meadow, proudly displays her chalk pastel drawing.

WARE

Tom Ware in his Evergreen home. artists approached their craft. I always appreciated his curiosity.”

His sculptures, paintings and drawings moved between realistic and more abstract work. In addition to the cartoons he was famous for, “He could draw a perfect portrait, a perfect likeness of anybody. He was a miracle worker at that,” Cate said.

Other endeavors

While Tom was known for his artistic endeavors and commitment to the arts community in Evergreen, he also had interests outside of art.

• During the Korean War, he served in the Army, stationed in Japan as a cartographer.

“ at was a golden time of his life despite mixed feelings about being in the military,” Laura said. “He and my mom had special times there together and made lifelong friends.”

• While on the Evergreen Metro

District board (for about 30 years), he looked out for the residents, making sure they weren’t shafted by the developers, said Mark Davidson, who served with Tom on the EMD board.

“He was pretty protective of the little guy and fairly tough on the developers,” Davidson said.

• Tom served as a volunteer on the Evergreen Fire Department for about eight years, including ghting a major wildland re on Mount Evans.

Because he lived so close to Station 1 near downtown Evergreen, when the re alarm sounded, he would go over the top of the hill and be among the rst to respond.

• Tom was part of a Tuesday lunch group of fellow geologists working in the petroleum industry. ey met weekly for more than 25 years, and they and their families were close family friends. Laura called the lunches “one of the most cohesive parts of my parents’ lives.”

Important qualities

“By far, he was the family thread on the Ware side,” daughter Laura said. “It was multigenerational. He kept four generations somewhat connected because he cared about that. He was interested in family, how it all ts together especially on his side of the family.”

He also believed in living each day to the fullest.

“He tried to live each day with joie de vivre – make it into something fun, and he lived that way most every day of his life, and I respect that,” Cate said.

Cate added that she admired his determination to nish any project he started.

“ e endless sculptures that he created — bringing those to completion over and over is so amazingly unique to the average person in this world today,” Cate said. “People don’t have the same kind of commitment of time to things.”

Sumner called him someone who really cared about Evergreen.

“I think part of the reason why I

became so fond of Evergreen was because Tom was so fond of Evergreen,” he added.

Davidson called Tom a friendly, warm person.

“When he would run into you in a restaurant, he would say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and he really meant it. He had a genuine interest in other people and was an interesting character to be around.”

Lasting legacy

Daughter Laura has invited the Warehouse Gang to return to the Ware home to sculpt each week.

“We talk about him every week,” friend and fellow artist Barb Chiarella said. “His presence is all over the walls of his studio, and his stories come up all the time.

“He was a special man to me — a mentor, a teacher, very generous,” she said. “I lost a very special person in my life.”

“He was a treasure to the community,” Go said.

Daughter Cate put it simply: “His good side ran deep.”

Tom Ware

COURTESY

PHOTOS

Two foothills fire departments to have elections in May

Other special districts canceling elections

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Two re departments in the foothills will have elections on May 2. e rest do not have enough candidates to require elections, so the elections are being canceled.

Six people self-nominated to ll three seats on the Elk Creek Fire Protection District. e candidates are incumbents Chuck Newby and Sharon Woods, and newcomers Dominique Devaney, Shannon Peterson, Todd Wagner and Debra MacPhee. Incumbent board member Kent Wagner is not seeking re-election. e election will be in-person at Elk Creek Fire Station 1, and the polls are open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Board members serve four-year terms. e re district is along U.S. 285 and incorporates the areas from Aspen Park and into Park County.

Foothills Fire also will have an election on May 2 with the possibility of electing an entirely new ve-member board to oversee the district.

One incumbent and two people appointed in January to the board

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

CLUB begins raising funds for press box e Conifer Lobos Uni ed Boosters is embarking on a campaign to raise $110,000 by this summer to purchase and install a prefabricated press box at the main athletic eld at Conifer High School.

e press box is the last piece of the main athletic eld improvements that started in 2012. e school district put arti cial turf on the eld thanks to the 2018 bond, plus the boosters raised money to buy and install stadium lights, a concession stand and team rooms.

e most recent project was raising about $400,000 to purchase and install bleachers, which was completed in 2021.

CLUB is beginning an Orange Bucket Drive, where students carry orange buckets during student pickup and at other times to collect

to ll open positions are running for election and facing challengers.

Running for three four-year positions are incumbent Steven A. Beck, newly appointed board member Stephanie Graf and newcomers David R. Stajcar, Seth Miller and Dan Hartman. e three candidates running for two two-year positions are Lee S. Chaisson, Stephanie Troyer and newly appointed board member Norman Kirsch.

Current board members TJ Carney and Scott Ferguson are not running for the board.

Foothills Fire’s boundaries start in El Rancho and includes Lookout Mountain, Mount Vernon and Idledale. e election will be from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. in the district’s administrative o ce in El Rancho.

Canceled elections

Among the special districts that are canceling their elections and appointing the self-nominees to their boards are:

Evergreen Park & Recreation District: Incumbent Don Rosenthal and newcomer Nina Armah will serve four-year terms on the board. A third candidate who led nomination papers decided to withdraw to save the district election costs.

Evergreen Fire/Rescue: Evan Jef-

fries, who recently was appointed to the board, and newcomer Suzanne Campagna will serve four-year terms.

Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District: Incumbents Bob Scott and Mike Swenson will remain on the board for four-year terms.

Evergreen Metro District: Incumbents Mark Davidson and Jack Wolfe will serve four-year terms on the board.

West Je erson County Metro District: Incumbent Pat Temple will serve a four-year term on the board.

Two additional board members will need to be appointed since no one self-nominated to ll them.

Kittredge Sanitation and Water District: Incumbents Bob Kellogg Jr., Janet Reichart and Kyle Brytowski will serve four-year terms.

Indian Hills Water: Incumbent Tony Pesce and newcomer Mike Cunningham will serve four-year terms on the board.

Indian Hills Fire: Incumbents Scott Ryplewski and Scott Kellar will serve four-year terms on the board.

Park summer concerts, which are scheduled for June 28, July 12, July 26 and Aug. 9.

e Conifer show is from 6-9 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Conifer High School, and the Evergreen show is from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Center for the Arts Evergreen. Admission is free, and food will be available.

donations.

For more information and to donate, visit www.clubchs.org.

Evergreen, Conifer’s Got Talent

e annual Evergreen’s Got Talent and Conifer’s Got Talent shows are coming up soon, and four acts who

win the contests will perform at two of Evergreen’s four summer concerts.

Two winners will be selected from each show, and they will perform as the warmup acts for two of the Evergreen Park & Recreation District’s Evergreen Lake/Buchanan

A panel of judges will select winners at both talent shows. e judges for Conifer’s Got Talent are Betsy Hays, an EPRD board member, Lance Swearingen, a local pastor and lead singer for Blood Brothers, and Jax Jordening, who won Evergreen’s Got Talent last year. Judges for the Evergreen show have not been nalized.

In addition, acts are welcome to raise money, which will go to the Conifer High School theater and choral programs, Resilience1220 and Center for the Arts Evergreen.

Foothills Fire and Elk Creek Fire will conduct elections for their governing boards on May 2. Both elections will be in person at the administration buildings, including Foothills Fire’s in El Rancho, seen here. FILE PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

NEWS BRIEFS

The Conifer Lobos Unified Boosters are raising money to install a press box at Conifer High School. In 2021, the boosters completed the bleachers at the school’s stadium.

Barre McKee, director of therapeutic activities, tried to nd other ways to transport residents, though much of public transportation is not equipped to handle those using walkers and wheelchairs. Residents’ families helped out, too. “Our residents live with so many limitations as it is,” McKee said. “Getting on a bus should not be one.”

e 20 people who donated money to purchase the bus have been lifesavers for the facility, Fite said.

Residents and sta had a party on March 3 to celebrate the vehicle’s arrival with residents taking turns checking out the bus and taking rides to Elk Meadow.

“Perseverance has been our motto,” Fite told residents, noting that in addition to needing a bus, the facility also experienced a ood that did extensive damage to the dining room in December 2021.

Melony Smith of Evergreen was

a major donor to the bus-procurement e ort. She donated in memory of her mom, Sylvia Sholes, who lived at Elk Run for two years before passing away. Smith cut the ribbon to celebrate the bus, noting that March 3 would have been her dad Bud Sholes’ 100th birthday.

“I know they are both celebrating this bus,” she said. “My mom never stopped looking for adventure.”

A kind, generous person, Sylvia Sholes never knew a stranger, and at Elk Run, she greeted anyone who walked through the door, Smith said.

Elk Run resident Walt Nees was the rst to use the lift to get into the bus. Nees uses a walker, so he isn’t able to get up the steps to get into the vehicle.

His daughter Ginny Zachman of Evergreen said she was thrilled that Elk Run now has the handicapped-accessible bus, nothing that whenever her dad wanted to go on an outing, she needed to be available to take him.

Now he can go whenever he wants, she said, adding: “ is bus will help keep him busy, occupied and happy.”

Sta members help resident Walt Nees exit Elk Run Assisted Living’s new bus that has 11 seats and space for five wheelchairs. Nees was the first to try the lift that allows him access. He is accompanied by daughter Ginny Zachman. PHOTOS BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

Melony Smith of Evergreen, a donor who helped Elk Run Assisted Living procure the bus, speaks about her mom before cutting a ribbon to o cially open the bus to residents.

Educational Achievements

Jackie Donoho has been named to the dean’s list at Johns Hopkins University with a 4.0 GPA for the fall 2022 semester. Jackie also continues her athletic career on the schools indoor and outdoor track teams in the pentathlon and high jump. She is an EHS graduate and daughter of Dan and Jill Donoho.

Grady Behrhorst, of Evergreen, earned dean’s list honors for the fall 2022 semester at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Students on the dean’s list have a 3.7 or higher GPA. Grady is majoring in business creative enterprises and is a member of the class of 2026.

Jacob Hartmere and Lucy Schneider, both of Evergreen, earned spots on the president’s list for the fall 2022 semester at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Students who made the president’s list have achieved a 4.0 GPA.

Jack Mitchell, of Evergreen, was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Students on the dean’s list have a 3.5 or higher GPA.

Jaden Phillips, from Evergreen, has been named to St. Lawrence University’s dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester. Jaden, an Evergreen High School graduate, is a member of the class of 2023 and is majoring in government and international economics-French. To be eligible for the dean’s list, a student must have a 3.6 or higher GPA.

Lute Douglas, of Conifer, was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester at Rochester Institute

of Technology in Rochester, New York.  Lute is in the biotechnology and molecular bioscience program. e dean’s list honors those with a 3.4 or better GPA.

Ginger Schi mayer, of Evergreen, has been named to the dean’s list with high distinction for the fall 2022 semester at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Ginger is a history major and is the daughter of David and Julie Schi mayer. Students eligible for the dean’s list have a GPA

of 3.85 to 4.0.

Isabella Keenan, of Morrison, quali ed for the president’s list for the fall 2022 semester at Chadron State college in Chadron, Nebraska. Students on the president’s list have a 4.0 GPA.

e following students were named to the president’s honor roll for having a 4.0 GPA for the fall 2022 semester at the University of Wyoming. ey are Kaelin Goss, of Bailey, Matilda Emilie Schiewe, of Evergreen, Hannah Danielle Hladik, of Kittredge, and Aurora Christine Gearhart and Sadie McMullen, both of Morrison.

Kyler Yarnell, of Morrison, and a Central College student in the class of 2025, is completing an internship with Clifton Larson Allen in W. Des Moines, Iowa.

Brady Carroll, of Evergreen, was named to Tallahassee Community College fall 2022 dean’s list. Students on the dean’s list have a 3.50 or better GPA.

Karina Opalski, of Conifer, was named to the fall 2022 president’s list at Tallahassee Community College. Students on the president’s list have a 4.0 GPA.

Henry Anders Wellensiek, of Evergreen, has been named to the dean’s list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the fall 2022 semester. Henry is a freshman majoring in political science. Students named to the College of Arts and Sciences have a 3.7 or better GPA.

Taylor Kenyon, of Conifer was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester at the University of Maryland Global Campus. To be

eligible, students must have a 3.5 or better GPA.

Good for You

On Feb. 10, Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen competed against eight other middle schools from Je erson County in a math competition at Front Range Community College. e competition, organized by MathCounts, brings together the best math students from the county to compete for a day in four di erent math contests. e winning school teams and individuals move on to a state competition, followed by a national competition for the best from each state.

Coaches Walter Short and Katrina Glaser say this year RMAE’s 12 participating students were the most ever from RMAE in the four years RMAE has competed in MathCounts, and were the only competitors from the Evergreen/Conifer/ Idaho Springs community. is year was also RMAE’s most successful effort with the RMAE team coming in fourth behind larger middle schools. Of the 80 Je erson County competitors, RMAE students Avery Schroeder (8th grade), Bella Outland (7th grade) and Riley Martin (7th grade) scored in the top 20, while Echo Robbins (8th grade) and Caden Wagner (7th grade) were in the top 30.

e RMAE Math Team, which meets during school elective hours, also participates in one or two other math competitions each year, including the one conducted by the University of Northern Colorado each fall.

Jackie Donoho

The true meaning of community

We have read that millions of Americans live from one payday to another with little or no savings to support them if they were to su er job loss, divorce or a serious illness. But that can’t happen in Evergreen, right? In Evergreen, folks live in nice homes, and incomes are well above average.

Not totally true; you know di erently. It started when you got sick. You got better, but the medical bills drained all your savings. en, your husband left. He simply left a note saying that he was going to go somewhere else and start over.  So now you are on your own and not doing very well. Your job at a fast-food place left you with a weekly check of just about $500. After getting behind on the rent, you lost the place where you lived. You have your car so that’s where you sleep now.

ankfully Evergreen has Evergreen Christian Outreach, known as EChO, to help people in your situation. You know that you can go to the food pantry and get some healthy food, but preparing food in

JIM ROHRER

to work, but she told you it often takes ve years to get a new place. You hope you can hold on, but worry about getting sick again.

Columnist

your car isn’t the best. You have been utilizing the EChO temporary shelter, at a local church, once a week. ere you can get a shower, warm bed, breakfast and sack lunch. It’s a welcome change from the intense cold of the car, but it is only there in cold months and there are more people in need than available rooms.

EChO was there to help when your car needed repair, and good that they were because you didn’t have the money to get it xed. ey even interceded to regain your driver’s license after it was lost by multiple parking tickets obtained because of where you parked to sleep. You have now learned to avoid the tickets, but without the license you would have lost your job. e very nice lady who meets with you somehow has gotten you on to a list which might get you a new place to live. You pray for this

Something woke you, and you quicky realize that this was all a nightmare. You do live in one of the nice warm houses in Evergreen. You have a loving family, and your husband has a good job. “ ank heavens for my good fortune,” you think.  It’s Wednesday and it’s your day to volunteer at the EChO resale store. You are one of Mary’s volunteers. ree hundred volunteers give their time because they see those who need a little help and because they know they are making a di erence. You love that the leaders at EChO see those they help as clients deserving respect and compassion.

People at EChO never ask, “How did you get in this situation?” Instead, they ask, “How can we help you?” ey have even developed a client advisory council to help the sta continue to improve the quality of help they provide. You know the importance of the work because you can see that the number of people

who need help is increasing, yet the leaders continue to maintain or improve the services given. In your view, the case managers are amazing. ey are highly educated, yet they stay here to help others. Even as their case-loads increase, they make time for anyone who needs them.   Your family is one who is proud to support EChO nancially. You are happy to help. EChO was started by the Church of the Trans guration, then joined by other local churches, and throughout the years many local institutions. Ever since those early days, Evergreen residents have generously supported EChO and its work. A community is a group of people who love and support each other…in Evergreen we call it EChO.

Jim Rohrer of Evergreen is a business consultant and author of the books “Improve Your Bottom Line … Develop MVPs Today” and “Never Lose Your Job … Become a More Valuable Player.” Jim’s belief is that common sense is becoming less common. Contact Jim at jim.rohrer2@ gmail.com.

Ambiguity: Facing the fear of uncertainty

We’re on a journey of understanding our relationship to time, and how we respond to it. Last month I talked about Permeability third in my ve-part series.  is month, let’s look at what happens when you move from Permeability into Ambiguity.

Ambiguity takes hold when you have a number of possibilities of equal interest or magnitude in your life. What starts to happen is, you tend to lose interest, become apathetic, and become indi erent to those options. Your own passions seem to move away and outside yourself, and the world around you goes a little dim. You nd it almost impossible to grasp onto anything meaningful.

Concepts like ambiguity are a

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Safety before NIMBYism

Christine Kahane

curiosity for people, because most of us prefer to live in the more secure world of black and white, this or that, causes and e ects. We feel stable when an outcome is predictable and we have a grip on our emotional response to a particular set of circumstances.

It’s when our choices are too numerous and all have a degree of potential success, that our forward momentum can become unclear — you review them all until they take on a veneer of sameness.

While we all value options and choices, when you have so many

possibilities with an equal number of potential outcomes available to us, we can lose our inner compass — the one that tells us which direction to take.

Here are a few tools I use with my clients to help them move out of what often looks and feels like apathy, or the “whatever” mood we can get lost in:

Explore putting the spark back into your life: Try something you’ve always heard was delicious to eat. Go to a new part of town, walk an unfamiliar trail (bring someone along with you).

Get curious about uncovering the unexpected: When was the last time you were truly surprised? How did it feel? What is a mystery in your life you’d like to know more about? Try it!

I would like to thank Jack and Sherry Buchanan as well as the Bonanno Group for buying the El Rancho. ey should be commended. is is the cornerstone for what will be our Evergreen Gateway. e community should back their development which will bring us new state of the art facilities for Foothills Fire Rescue and Alpine Rescue. We will also gain a new hotel and retail which will bring us jobs, tax revenue and tourism. All of which we need.

e development is sound. We have the water. Foothills can provide the re protection. Highland Rescue is more than capable of providing para-

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Seek friends who are drawn to novelty: Get a friend to try a new Meetup with you. Volunteer at a charity event, look for new cuisine to try.

Play, nd humor and have fun: Get the game Twister, turn the sound o on a movie you’re watching and do the dialogue out loud together. e next time you feel like getting o ended, try laughing instead.

Christine Kahane, NBC-HWC, MCHWC – is a Nationally BoardCerti ed Health & Wellness Coach, and owner of KAHANE COACHING (www.kahanecoaching.com), located at 30792 Southview Drive/Suite 206 in Evergreen, CO. For more information about coaching, or to write-in a question for UNlearn it! send your inquiries to christine@kahanecoaching.com.

medics. With its station at the 256 exit (Riva Chase area) they will be able to have re and rescue apparatus enter from 2 points. 3 if you have response from the Lookout Mountain station via Paradise Hills.

e current re station is a glori ed tu shed and double wide o ce trailer. ey need a real o ce, a meeting room, restrooms, a kitchen, quarters for overnight stays, a business center for volunteers who have businesses and can work remotely as well as areas for hot and cold storage. ere also needs to be ventilation equipment, electric lines to keep the trucks charged

KRISTEN FIORE West Metro Editor kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com

DEB HURLEY BROBST Community Editor dbrobst@coloradocommunitymedia.com

RUTH DANIELS Classified Sales rdaniels@coloradocommunitymedia.com

SEE LETTERS, P9

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Courier.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

A life in a year: being an exchange student in Colorado

“I think it’s better.”

Last night we were discussing the di erences between school in the USA and Italy with our Italian exchange student, Giona, as my kids complained, yet again, about having to go to school. Giona explained to us how in Italy he goes to school from 8-2 Monday through Saturday. He doesn’t eat lunch at school, which he really enjoys here, and said the teachers are much more strict and not as friendly in Italy.

I’m hoping that gave my kids pause. Maybe they will appreciate what they have.

Giona has been with us for two months now, and it’s been great! We have three kids: ages 11, 15 and 16, and each has a special and di erent relationship with him. He hadn’t been home for more than 30 minutes when our youngest had him juggling the soccer ball with her for almost two hours. ey have a shared passion. It took a little longer with the teenagers, but he and Em joke around like brother and sister now, and Kennan has taught Giona to play chess.

He is always so polite and thankful. He helps with dinner and loves our dog. When I asked what is on his “bucket” list, he said that he just feels so lucky to be here. We’ve found a soccer team for him to train with, and this past weekend he went ice climbing with my son’s Scout troop! Most days though, the kids just go to school, come home and hang out. He’s having the experience

OBITUARIES

as well as extractors (giant washing machines) to clean bunker gear. ey also need hose washers and compressors to ll SCBA breathing equipment. is is life safety and that always should come rst over aesthetics or someones overly aggressive NIMBYism!

I encourage people to support this

GUEST COLUMN

Kacey Narracci

of being a “normal American teenager” in a “typical” American family, and we are all better for it.

Each year, EF High School Exchange Year brings thousands of students to the U.S.A. to live out their American dream of attending high school in the U.S. for a school year or a semester. About 20-25 of those kids land in Je erson County, but we have space for many more. is is such a wonderful opportunity to make our global community smaller, share your culture, learn about others, expose your children and community to more diversity. ere is no downside!

Host families come in all shapes and sizes: empty nesters, single parents, big families with small children, small families with or without children. e only requirements are to be at least 25 years of age, have a bed for the student that is not convertible in nature (they can share a room with a same sex sibling), be able to provide three meals a day and a willingness to open your heart and home to an exchange student.

Please visit https://efexchangeyear.org/iec/kacey-narracci/ for more information and to see some of the terri c kids that hope to nd a host family for the 2023-24 school year.

Kacey Narracci is the regional coordinator of EF High School Exchange Year. Kacey can be reached at kacey. narracci@efexchangeyear.org or 720331-4556.

venture by Northstar Ventures. It will be incredible. ere are no negatives. e views will still be there for residents of Rainbow Hills as well as those travelling west. e entrances for emergency vehicles will have better placement and alignment. e RTD park and ride will even be better.

I have a Facebook Group dedicated to supporting this. www.facebook. com/groups/evergreengateway

Nate Marshall, Evergreen

Richard Andrew O’Connor, 61, of Evergreen, Colorado passed away on February 24, 2023.

Richard

O’Connor October 14, 1961 - February 24, 2023

Rich was born in Denver, Colorado on October 14, 1961 to Donald and Sue O’Connor. Rich graduated from Colorado Academy in 1980 and went on to earn a degree in geology at St. Lawrence University, in chilly Canton, New York.

During summers in college, Rich worked on Martha’s Vineyard on sword shing boats, which led to his passion as a y sherman. After college, Rich moved back to Denver and worked for the Xerox Corporation before entering into the nance industry and working for both Kirkpatrick Pettis and D.A. Davidson as Senior Vice President of Institutional Sales. Rich met his wife Holly in the fall of 1988 and they married July 14, 1990.

Rich retired in June 2022 and spent time y shing, skiing and traveling. Rich loved working on and in his yard in Evergreen and was proud of its impeccable appearance.

Rich was preceded in death by his father Donald O’Connor and mother Sue O’Connor. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Holly, daughters Emma and Annie, his brothers Davis (Cathie), Peter (Kathy) and sister Susan, nieces and nephews that he adored, Sean O’Connor (Josie), Liam O’Connor, Meghan Ellington (Matthew Ellington), Patrick O’Connor (Kristen), Brian O’Connor

(Rachel), James Kreidle (Victoria), Connor Kreidle (Ellory), Katie Kreidle, Nicole Kreidle Bernstein (Kevin Bernstein), his stepmother Lenora O’Connor and numerous great nieces and nephews. His wife and daughters were the loves of his life.

Rich was an avid y sherman although he had an odd and outsized fear of sharks. He loved the Colorado outdoors, spending time shing the North Fork of the South Platte River on the families’ ranch in Pine and other rivers in Colorado, skiing in Vail and mountain biking in Elk Meadow and Bu alo Creek. He loved hanging out with his beloved Labrador retrievers, Hoss, Izzie, Millie (purchased on a whim at an auction), and several others. He was an avid Bronco and college lacrosse fan. He had an uncanny memory for just about any and every college and professional football player. Rich will be remembered for his quick wit, intellect and integrity. He will be missed dearly.

A memorial service honoring Rich’s life will be held Wednesday March 15, 4pm at Pinehurst Country Club, 6255 W Quincy Ave, Denver, CO 80235

In lieu of owers the family requests donations to be made in Richs’ memory to e Wild Animal Sanctuary, Foothills Animal Shelter or Evergreen Animal Protective League, all causes Rich was passionate about.

O’CONNOR

Ice Climbing at Camp Alexander.

COURTESY PHOTO

Some of the rules have changed this year: performers must be 18 or younger, and solo performers will be able to get an accompanist.

While it is too late to register for Conifer’s Got Talent, the deadline for Evergreen’s Got Talent is March 31. Conifer area teens are invited to perform at the Evergreen event.

For more information and to register, visit evergreensgottalent.com.

EPRD to look into employee housing e Evergreen Park & Recreation District will look into what it would take to turn three houses it owns in Buchanan Park into employee housing.

If the rec district goes through with

the idea, Executive Director Cory Vander Veen said there would be many details to work out, including giving the current tenants plenty of time to move out.

“It seems worthwhile,” board member Mary McGhee said at the Feb. 28 board meeting. “It seems like a win-win. It builds loyalty (among sta members) and helps with affordable housing.”

Board member Monty Estis agreed, saying as long as the district brought in the same rent revenue, having employee housing could help solve sta ng needs.

e rec district has di culty lling both seasonal and full-time employee positions in part because of the cost to live in Evergreen.

Board members agreed it makes sense to look into it.

Denver Jewish Film Festival adds new voices

There’s nothing wrong with taking a new approach to a beloved event — that’s how new perspectives and stories get added to familiar ones. In his second year as general manager of the JCC Mizel Arts and Culture Center, Rich Cowden decided to do just that in preparation for the 27th annual Denver Jewish Film Festival

“I used the rst year as a listening tour and one of the things that came up during the process was that we could add some new elements to the festival without throwing away the things that worked so well,” he explained. “We wanted some space for more diversity in the line-up and started looking at how we select lms every year.”

To inject new viewpoints into the festival, Cowden changed how lms were selected, bringing in younger people to share the stories that connected with them and made it easier for members of the pre-screening and lm selection committees to work through the more than 300 submissions the festival receives every year.

“We also opened a second space at the center for lm screenings, so we can show more lms,” he said. “What people will nd this year is we’re making inroads into a more diverse portfolio of lms.”

is year’s festival, which is presented by e Chotin Foundation and runs from March 11 through March 19 at the JCC Mizel Arts and

COMING ATTRACTIONS

conversation around Jewish culture that is healthy, tolerant and lled with compassion,” Cowden said. “I really believe in the power of art to build bridges where everyone is trying to build walls. ese lms then become a conduit for connection between people, and that’s ultimately why we do this.”

To learn more about the lms and purchase tickets, visit https://dj . eventive.org/welcome.

Clarke Reader

Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia St. in Denver, re ects those e orts to expand the frame - there are 39 Israeli and Jewish lms, including nine shorts and one television mini-series, hailing from 14 countries. For those who can’t attend in person, lms will be streaming on-demand from March 20 through March 29.

With so many entries, there are truly options for all to enjoy, but one that Cowden particularly cited is the closing night feature, “ e Man in the Basement,” a psychological thriller based on a true story, about a French couple whose cellar is rented out to an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist.

As an organization that never shies away from fostering conversation, the festival will also screen “Blue Box,” a documentary about e orts to secure land in Palestine. It is just one of the lms that will have an audience discussion afterwards, so viewers can share their thoughts and get more information on the topics the lm delves into.

“I want people who may think a festival like this is not for them to take a chance and have conversations around the lms, the themes and ideas they present, and build a

America’s Lowest Nicotine Cigarettes

Helping break the cycle of nicotine

Spring into a new season with the LSO e Lakewood Symphony Orchestra is welcoming spring with the latest entry in its Season of Favorites with a performance of some beautiful music. e performance will be at 7:30 p.m. on ursday, March 9 at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway.

Some of the music the symphony will be performing include Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Coronation March,” followed by music from the ballet “Coppélia,” a story that predates Pinnochio by 13 years but follows a similar storyline. e show will also feature Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D major.”

For more information and tickets, visit www.lakewoodsymphony.org.

Pictures worth more than a thousand words at MOP Denver e Month of Photography Denver, which runs through Friday, March 31, allows the work of photographers of all skill levels and interests the opportunity to show-

case their talents. e biennial event is celebrated by galleries and arts organizations all over the state

One of the most inspiring events in this year’s lineup is the free Night Lights Denver, which will be held at the Daniels & Fisher Clocktower, 1601 Arapahoe St. in Denver. e Colorado Photographic Arts Center (CPAC) will be digitally projecting images on the building to celebrate the month. For a full list of events and participating locations, visit https://denvermop.org/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — The Lagoons at the Bluebird Theater

Sometimes you just need something smooth to get you through the day. e music multi-instrumentalist brothers Ryan and Joey Selan make as e Lagoons ful ll the brief beautifully. Over their three EPs and two albums (including last year’s “Daybreak”), the duo has ne-tuned a vibey electronic take on yacht and surf rock that can just carry you away to somewhere warmer if you let it.

In support of the record, e Lagoons will be stopping by the Bluebird eater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15. ey’ll be joined by opener Jelly Ellington. Get tickets at www.bluebirdtheater.net.

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

Make-A-Wish Colorado alumni, volunteers celebrate its 40th anniversary

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

2023 has already been a big year for Make-A-Wish.

Wish Week fundraisers have been in full swing at local schools this winter, and basketball legend Michael Jordan donated $10 million — the largest individual donation ever — to the national organization last month. And spring 2023 could be even bigger.

Make-A-Wish Colorado celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and is hosting an anniversary celebration and fundraiser in April in Denver. Since it started, Make-A-Wish Colorado has granted more than 6,000 wishes for children with critical illnesses as a way of giving them hope and something to look forward to during their treatment.

Golden’s Ben Bontrager, 10, went to Hawaii for his wish last spring. He was diagnosed in early 2020 with Burkitt’s lymphoma and was sick for almost a year, with his mom Sarah saying, “We almost lost him a couple times.”

Ben, who’s now in remission, said going to Hawaii was “the rst thing idea that popped in my head,” because he wanted to get out and do something fun.

“I was sick of being home,” he continued.

Now, Ben and his family are becoming Make-A-Wish ambassadors so that they can help other families through the same process.

Dad Je Bontrager said Ben’s wish was a “bright spot” to think about during those long days at the hospital, adding, “ e thought that (MakeA-Wish) has done it over and over for people, it’s really pretty amazing.”

For Jennifer

Joan Mazak has been the proverbial fairy godmother for thousands of Colorado children after she founded the organization in 1983. She started it in honor of her daughter, Jennifer, who died at 7 years old of a liver disease.

Mazak recalled how, about a week before Jennifer’s death, she was granted an uno cial wish to meet local radio mascot KIMN Chicken. He stopped by the family’s house, walking around the entire property hand-in-hand with Jennifer. Many of the neighborhood children stopped by to see KIMN Chicken, but he was focused on making Jennifer feel special.

“It was great for her to be able to have that,” Mazak said.

After Jennifer’s death, Mazak used funds that people had raised for a liver donation to start Make-A-Wish

Colorado. ere were only three other chapters in the country and no national organization yet, she said. e local chapter was all volunteers working out of their homes, helping to create memories for children who needed them. Mazak said the very rst wish was to catch a sh, so they set up a shing trip at Dillon Reservoir.

Longtime volunteer Gary Aboussie recalled wishes to meet the pope and the Broncos. One of his favorite stories was sending a guitar to Bruce Springsteen to sign, him keeping that one, and sending back his own guitar instead with a special message. Mazak said of wishes: “ ey come in all shapes and sizes. ere are so many logistics to putting together a single wish. It’s di erent for every single family.”

Ben Bontrager of Golden had his wish to visit Hawaii granted in spring 2022. Ben, now 10, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in early 2020 but is now in remission.

Jack Rodell of Castle Rock had his wish to be a Colorado Avalanche player granted in November 2022. Jack, now 8, was diagnosed with leukemia but has been in remission for two years. COURTESY PHOTOS

WISHES

About 20 years ago, Make-A-Wish Colorado started partnering with local schools for Wish Week fundraisers. Mazak said it’s been a winwin situation, as it helps instill philanthropy in the students and raises money for their sick peers. Plus, she always loves seeing schools’ creative fundraising methods, like shaving teachers’ heads or taping their principals to the wall.

While nancial contributions are needed, so are volunteers.

Aboussie described how meeting Make-A-Wish children and their families “touches your mind and heart.” So, he works to help however he can — whether that’s serving on the board of directors or speaking at events.

“(Volunteering) shows you how much more there is to do,” he said. “… We can’t stop the problems, but we can ease the e orts and give the

child something to dream about when they’re going through the possibly the most di cult time of their life.”

Both Aboussie and Mazak stressed how much these children and their families need “a sense that there will be a better tomorrow,” as Aboussie described it. ey said these children also need to feel normal after feeling di erent during their formative years.

Hope and normalcy

Castle Rock’s Jack Rodell, 8, might be a little shy, except when it comes to talking about the best day of his life.

On Nov. 14, Jack was the guest of honor at a Colorado Avalanche game. He described the entire day in detail, saying he met the players, got his own jersey and more. Jack, who wants to be a professional hockey player when he grows up, was diagnosed with leukemia but has been in remission for two years. His wish was delayed because of COVID-19.

Over the past few years, he’s represented Make-A-Wish Colorado at fundraising events, and he and his family are now becoming wish ambassadors, like the Bontragers.

“When your kid is diagnosed with cancer, and you just live appointment to appointment, it’s very lonely,” his mom Krystalyn said. “… In his head, he just feels di erent. … It’s nice to see other people celebrate him, and it’s something he’ll remember for the rest of his life.”

at’s something Denver’s Austen Swinton can con rm.

Swinton, who’s graduating from the University of Colorado-Boulder this spring, was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure as a child and eventually received a kidney transplant. For her wish, she met singer and actress Demi Lovato at a July 2009 concert.

After the two met backstage, Lovato pulled Swinton on stage and asked her to sing “ is Is Me” for the crowd. Swinton said she didn’t have stage fright at all, and Lovato sang with her.

e two reunited last year when Swinton spoke at World Wish Day in California where Lovato was being honored for helping Make-AWish.

Swinton, now 23, said her experiences with Make-A-Wish helped brighten her life when she needed it most.

“Looking back at how much I was going through at that age — I was only 10 or 11 when I was on dialysis — I was missing out on some of those peak childhood moments,” she continued. “ … Everyone says how much a wish impacts a child. You don’t truly know until you’re living that experience.”

Having a wish granted is the best day in a child’s life, Jack described, and now he’s hoping he can help other children as an ambassador, paying forward all the kindness he received.

“People really helped me, and I want to help other people so they feel the same way,” Jack said. “I felt special. I felt really happy. … I want other kids to feel happy.”

Austen Swinton of Denver, left, reunites with singer Demi Lovato at World Wish Day in spring 2022. Swinton had end-stage renal failure as a child and had her wish to meet Lovato granted in 2009.

Make-A-Wish Colorado founder Joan Mazak started the organization 40 years ago, and it has now granted more than 6,000 wishes for children with critical illnesses. Mazak said the wishes over the years have ranged from catching a fish to visiting Disneyland. COURTESY PHOTOS

A party with a purpose. Guests will enjoy great food, drinks, and country music, while raising crucial funds to grant wishes for Colorado children with critical ill-

nesses. Peyton Manning will be honored as a Wish Hero for his longtime support of the organization. For more information, visit wishes2023.givesmart.com.

Joan Mazak, Make-A-Wish Colorado founder

Targeting solution

EVERGREEN – Suspecting a case of mistaken identity, a young woman contacted JCSO regarding a malicious key attack on her car. She’d gone to the home where she’s employed as a nanny and parked her vehicle in front of the middle of three garage doors. Later that evening she heard odd noises outside, but chalked them up to restive wildlife. On arriving back at her own residence near midnight, her husband immediately called her attention to a long scratch marring the vessel’s starboard beam. e o cer noted that the damage ran from the middle of the right-front fender, across both front and rear passenger doors, ending at a point 8 inches aft of the gas tank. No paint-dusted key was in evidence, and the woman didn’t recall seeing any suspicious persons skulking about the neighborhood looking for a locked door. She did, however, envision a theory of the crime. She’d only recently begun driving that car, she explained, and the perpetrator –perhaps unaware that it belonged to her – had really meant to confound somebody else entirely. It’s an astute hypothesis that, so far, has produced no leads.

Disrespecting boundaries

EVERGREEN – e early-rising

resident stood at the edge of his property contemplating the retaining wall he planned to move four feet to the east. He was shortly joined by his neighbor, who possessed a fundamentally di erent interpretation of their respective property lines. What happened next depends on who you ask. According to Early, his neighbor started poking him in the chest and shoving him with both hands. e way Neighbor remembers it, Early began “chest-butting” him, which made him “feel like kicking his (assignation).” Just in the nick of time, Early’s pregnant wife physically inserted herself between the quarrelsome pair, authorities were summoned, and peace returned to the valley. Imbued with the spirit of détente, Early decided not to press charges. His heart a ame with empathy and good will toward all men, Neighbor said he just wanted to “get on with my life” and promised to “keep to myself.” Moved by such strong currents of universal brotherhood, the deputy closed the case.

Bedrock Confidential

CONIFER – ‘Twas long after midnight when Bam Bam called JCSO to report that his sweetheart of four years, Pebbles, had totally lost her marbles. It seems Pebbles

had received an anonymous textmessage alleging that Bam Bam had been sharing his a ections with another of Bedrock’s alabaster-skinned beauties, and suggesting she view the rock-solid evidence displayed on Facebook. Sure enough, there upon the accusing screen was a picture of Bam Bam and a certain Fiona Feldspar looking too comfortable together by half. Now hotter than lava, Pebbles demanded an explanation, and when Bam Bam tried to throw gurative sand in her eyes she erupted completely, hurling a “tub of butter” at him, smashing a safety gate against the wall, and coming down like a landslide on his laptop computer. After deputies observed the big crater in the wall next to the shattered gate, the computer battery soaking in the kitchen sink and the creamy bread-spread dappling Bam Bam’s animal-hide toga, Pebbles was stone-cold busted for third-degree assault.

TKO

CONIFER – In a splendid example of good timing, two deputies walked into the crowded saloon just in time to see two young bucks – let’s call them Steamroller and Sledgehammer – going all UFC on each other smack in the middle of everybody else’s good time. Recognizing that

as inappropriate behavior in mixed company, the o cers parted the impetuous pugilists and insisted they return to their separate corners for post-bout examination. But while Steamroller obediently stood down, Sledgehammer seemed unwilling to let the ght end in a decision and spiritedly resisted the deputies’ repeat commands to cool his jets. Fact is, the only thing that kept the o cers from tasering the tenacious tussler was the crowd of fans massed around him. Finally wrestled out into the parking lot, Sledgehammer assumed a serenely professional – and oddly con dential – stance. “ ings are cool,” he winked. “We’re on the same side.” Turns out things were not cool at all, particularly since Sledgehammer was on also on the same side as an active arrest warrant. e belt went to Steamroller, and Sledgehammer went down for the count.

Sheri ’s Calls is intended as a humorous take on some of the incident call records of the Je erson County Sheri ’s O ce for the mountain communities. Names and identifying details have been changed. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty.

turn it around.

retirement.

payments* while receiving proceeds

Summer Camps & Programs 2023

COUNTY AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Arapahoe County Libraries

Locations: Multiple locations in Arapahoe County

Website: arapahoelibraries.org

Details: Each year, Arapahoe libraries hosts a variety of reading events and gatherings to help fill the summer hours.

Jefferson County Library

Locations: Events in Lakewood, Arvada, Golden, Evergreen, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge and more

Website: https://jeffcolibrary.org/

Details: With summer coming, the Jefferson County Library system is already holding information sessions and planning events, such as the Cosmic Conversations: Telescope Highlights of the Midnight Sky in June.

Douglas County Libraries

Locations: See website

Website: www.dcl.org/camp-dcl/

Details: Choose from weeklong half-day camps at six DCL locations or full-day camps at select locations from June 5 through Aug. 4. Camps are facilitated by subject matter experts and supported by trained staff and volunteers. Camp themes include science, robotics, creative arts, LEGOs, cooking and baking, with each camp geared to a specific age range.

Englewood – 2023 KidConnections

Summer Camp

Locations: See website

Website: https://bit.ly/3YRWCcC

Details: The program is a fully licensed day care by the State of Colorado, Department of Human Services for children 5 years old (and completed kindergarten) through 14 years old. There is a registration fee of $10 per child.

City of Golden

Locations: See website

Website: https://bit.ly/3Sm6Y1X

Details: Summer camp registration opens Feb. 28 for residents and March 2 for nonresidents. Golden addresses are not all within city limits; some are actually part of unincorporated Jefferson County. Check if your Golden address is within city limits at addresslookup.jeffco.us.

Evergreen Park & Recreation District

Locations: Variety of locations

Website: www.evergreenrecreation. com/201/Camps

Details: The annual programs provide options for kids starting at 3 years old.

City of Thornton – 2023 summer camps

Locations: Varies by camp

Website: www.thorntonco.gov/recreation/ Pages/registration-information.aspx

Details: The annual summer program is already underway with registration for residents beginning on Feb. 1. Nonresidents joined on Feb. 2. From physical activities and sports camps to arts and more — the annual program will continue to register participants.

City of Northglenn summer programs

Locations: See website

Website: www.northglenn.org/rec_and_ events/childrens_programs.php

Details: Participants will enjoy their time at the Northglenn Recreation Center swimming two times a week, playing games/ activities in the beautiful gym, going on fi eld trips, having in-house experiences, riding pedal boats at Webster Lake, playing daily at E.B Rains Jr. Memorial Park, plus much more.

Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation

Location: 4355 Field St., Wheat Ridge

Website: www.rootedinfun.com/191

/Sun-Camp

Details: Wheat Ridge Sun Camp is a state-licensed day camp for children ages 6 to 13; offered during Jefferson County Public Schools’ spring, summer and winter breaks.

Arvada summer camps program

Location: 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada

Website: https://arvadacenter.org/education/summer-camps

Details: This summer, the Arvada center is offering a variety of half day camps and full-day camps — including prescheduled Awesome Art Packs. Awesome Art Packs are combinations of our most popular summer camps that provide full day activities for students. These camp packages are a creative and convenient way to give your child a multi-disciplinary arts experience this summer.

Highlands Ranch Community Association

Locations: Recreation centers throughout the community Website: https://hrcaonline.org/classescamps-activities/camps

Details: Every year, the Highlands Ranch Community Association works to provide something for everyone in its summer camp program. For children into sports, there are plenty of athletic camps available. For those looking to improve in art, arts and education programs are plentiful.

Town of Castle Rock Summer Camp Program

Locations: Vary based on camp

Website: https://www.crgov.com/3270/

Summer-Camps

Details: From sports camps to jedi training and science and arts — the Town of Castle Rock prevents a full slate of summer camp programs in 2023. Visit the town’s website to learn more about ages, prices and details.

Commerce City Parks & Recreation

Locations: Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Drive, Commerce City

Website: https://recreation.c3gov.com/ classes-programs/camps

Details: Youth Camp Venture is a traditional camp for children ages 6 to 10 and offers arts and crafts, STEM, active play, swimming and field trips. Camp takes place primarily outside at Eagle Pointe Rec Center. Adventure Trek is an outdoor adventure program that provides a new experience every day. Those ages 11 to 15 travel offsite for hiking, survival skills training, water activities and nature-based programming.

Town of Parker/Parker Fieldhouse

Location: 18700 Plaza Drive, Parker

Website:  https://parkerrec.com/2029/ Summer-Day-Camp

Details: Ages 5 to 13 can join this camp for themed games, activities, crafts and a ton of fun at the Parker Fieldhouse. Campers will be separated into age groups 5 to 6 years, 7 to 9 years, and 10 to 13 years. Expect swimming days and field trips too.

Foothills Parks & Recreation District

Location: 6612 S. Ward St., Littleton Website: www.ifoothills.org/school-carecamps/#camps

Details: Details will be posted online for the 2023 summer program in March.

SEE SUMMER CAMPS, NEXTPAGE

SUMMER CAMP PAGES

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

The Giggling Life Care Farm

Location: 14583 Cherry St., Thornton

Website: www.thegigglinglife.com/summer-farm-fun

Details: If your kids love animals you need to check out The Giggling Life Care Farm in Thornton for summer activities. The Giggling Life Care Farm is special for a lot of reasons, but the most important one is Kristi — the owner. She has a BS in psychology and a master’s in education, has studied life coaching for the last eight years, and is certified in Equine Assisted Coaching and Pet Therapy.

Highlands Ranch — Camp Backcountry

Location:  6005 Ron King Trail, Littleton

Website: hrcaonline.org/classes-campsactivities/camps/camp-backcountry

Details: Nestled into 8,200 acres of wildlife conservation property just south of C-470 on Santa Fe Drive, Camp Backcountry is the spot for a build-a-fort, hikejust-to-explore, and don’t-forget-yourbinoculars kind of summer for your kids. The Backcountry believes that children learn, grow, and thrive best when outdoors and immersed in nature. Our week-long, full-day outdoor camps support the needs of children by using a whole-child, experiential learning approach. From minicamps to leaders-in-training programs,

the camps are for ages 5-17.

Great Outdoors Summer Camp

Location: Miller Activity Complex — 1375 W. Plum Creek Pkwy, Castle Rock

Website: www.crgov.com/3270/SummerCamps

Details: This regional park includes the Miller Activity Complex (MAC), Millhouse, Amphitheater, Challenge Hill, ziplines, Adventure Tower, Sky Trek, and adventure playground area as well as over ten miles of hiking and biking trails.  For ages 10-15.

Chatfield Stables Horse Camps

Location: 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road, Littleton

Website: www.chatfieldstables.com/ horse-camps.html

Details: Chatfield Stables is the longestrunning horse camp in the area. Every child has their own horse for the entire week. Kids get to lead, feed, water and work with their horses every day. Campers learn horse care, including grooming and bridling. They water and feed their horses, learn to groom them, and take care of them at the end of the day. We ride daily, whether in the arena or on the trail.

Community Sailing of Colorado

Locations: 4800 S. Dayton St., Greenwood

Village

Website: www.communitysailing.org

Details: Community Sailing of Colorado provides premier sailing programs (summer camps, adult classes, adaptive sailing,

and community partnership events) at Cherry Creek and Boulder reservoirs. The weeklong summer camps range from beginner through advanced sailing for youth ages 5-17. It’s a perfect fit for any adventurous spirit who loves the outdoors.

YMCA SUMMER PROGRAMS

At the YMCA of Metro Denver, our youth development philosophy is grounded in 150 years of lifting up kids and helping them reach their full potential. It’s a philosophy centered on two critical factors: creating a unique sense of belonging and always incorporating the pure fun and joy of childhood.

Camps include adventure camps, sports programs, art that focuses on ceramics, painting, drawing, digital media and more. To find camps in local communities, visit the website at https://bit.ly/3Kg6GYM. Summer camp programs are available in the following Denver metro cities:

• Arvada

• Aurora

• Broomfield

• Centennial

• Commerce City

• Denver

• Golden

• Lakewood

• Littleton

• Thornton

• Wheat Ridge

MAD SCIENTISTS

Kookalooz Space Playground: STEM

Summer Camp

Locations: 6805 W. 88th Ave., Westminster

Website: www.kookalooz.com/westminster-co/summer-camps/

Details: 5 different camps from the basics of space to engineering. Each camp is one week long. For ages 5-10.

Colorado Adventure Point

Location: 10455 W. 6th Ave., Suite 150, Lakewood

Website: https://coloradoadventurepoint. org/

Details: CAP’s STEM Camp isn’t your typical science camp. Our campers get to experiment with chemistry, physics and engineering through a variety of materials, experiments and challenges to meet their curiosities and skill level in our challenge by choice model. In addition to building engineering models and friendships, the campers get to enjoy our climbing wall, archery range and more — and learn the science behind these fun activities. Camps are available for ages 6-12.

Butterfly Pavilion

Location: 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster

Website: https://butterflies.org/

Details: Starting June 5 and running through Aug. 11, the Butterfly Pavilion hosts all the creepy crawlies and your children at camp. There are five themes, which repeat once and include spider week, junior zookeeper and survival stories, where kids can learn about how insects adapt to survive.

Mad Science

Locations: Multiple locations in the Denver metro area, including the Littleton area, Denver and Broomfield

Website: https://colorado.madscience.org/

Details: These camps are designed for ages 6 to 12, though sessions such as Red-Hot Robots and Advanced Robotics camps are more appropriate for ages 8 to 12. Instructors are mostly college students pursuing degrees in education or science and teachers off for the summer. Themes include chemistry, space science, forensics, engineering and more. Each camp is weeklong, though times can vary.

Air & Space Camp

Location: Wings Over the Rockies at 7711 E. Academy Blvd., Denver

Website: wingsmuseum.org/education/ camp/

Details: Ready for an aerospace adventure? At Wings Over the Rockies that’s exactly what kids ages 8 to 14 can expect in these week-long camps. The fun starts June 5 and goes on until Aug. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

EMERGING ARTISTS

Center for the Arts: Summer in Color

Location: 31880 Rocky Village Dr., Evergreen

Website: https://evergreenarts.org/summercamp/

Details: Camps explore various media, from clay sculpting and wheel throwing, to pop art and mural painting, to the art of different cultures and the art of the masters. Several of our camps also incorporate outdoor components, including hikes, yoga, and opportunities for photography and eco-art projects. Let kids explore their creative side with imaginative and inspiring camps at CAE this summer. For ages 5-17.

Denver Art Museum

Location: 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver

Website: www.denverartmuseum.org/en/ summer-camps

Details: The camps at the Denver Art Museum get broken into three age groups: 5 to 6, 7 to 8, and 9 to 11. Overall, the themes remain the same — there are camps about art in nature, how to draw, learning about color and sculpture. Each camp runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and includes plenty of time in the museum to garner inspiration.

Craftsman & Apprentice

Location: 1335 E 22nd Ave., Denver

Website: craftsmanandapprentice.com/ pages/summer-2023

Details: Ages 5 to 11 can spend the summer creating worlds out of cardboard, paint, hot glue, ribbons, corks, buttons and more at this Denver kids’ crafting studio. Themes include toys, crafty critters, fiber arts and more.

ON THE STAGE

The Apollo Center Summer Camps

Location: 2655 Industrial Lane, Broomfield

Website: www.theapollocenter.com/ campdescriptions

Details: The Apollo Center offers a variety of skill-based camps for kids and adults alike. Aerial Performance Camps for kids

five-week sessions for ages 3–18.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

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ages 5-17 years focus on learning aerial technique and choreography throughout the week which will culminate with a camp performance based on the camp theme.

Front Range Theatre Company Triple Threat Summer Camp

Locations: 15035 Performing Arts School, Parker

Website: www.frontrangetheatre.org/triplethreat-summer-camp.html

Details: Working with professional instructors with years of experience, your child will learn the three major elements of any stage performer: Voice, Dance and Acting. The camps are designed to challenge performers in the entire range of life in the theatre, including a live performance in a mainstage venue!

Audience of One Youth Theatre Camp

Location: Highlands Ranch

Website: www.AO1Theater.org

Details: Whether a student is looking to try out theater for the first time, polish skills or have fun with friends, the AO1 has one-totwo-week camps can work in the summer schedule. AO1’s summer programming includes kids’ productions for ages 5-12, workshops for ages 8-18, and a two-week intensive program for teenagers.

The Arvada Center

Location: 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. Arvada

Website: https://arvadacenter.org/

Details: If your kid is 5 to 12 and loves a bit of drama and/or art, the Arvada Center has a slew of full- and half-day camps available. The best and most economic way to sign up for camp is to do it in three- or four-week blocks, and the venue offers combinations of visual art, musical theater, drama and music.

Kent Denver Performing Arts Camps

Location: 4000 E. Quincy Ave., Englewood

Website: www.KentDenver.org

Details: Summer at Kent Denver School offers all children ages 4–18 the opportunity to experience innovative, creative, handson learning in the arts, athletics, our Tiny Farm Day Camp, academics, innovation and technology.

St. Lukes Performing Arts Camps

Location:  8817 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch

Website: www.StLukesPAA.org

Details: From preschool age to high school students there are a large variety of summer camp shows planned in Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock areas. Registration is now open.

Castle Rock Dance Academy

Locations: 140 S. Wilcox St. Suite A, Castle Rock

Website: http://www.castlerockdanceacademy.com/

Details: At Castle Rock Dance Academy (CRDA), best friends are made, etiquette and self-discipline are taught, and students learn skills they can carry with them through life. The program offers weekly dance classes in

Bowlero

Locations: Multiple locations in Cherry Creek, Littleton and Lone Tree

Website: www.bowlero.com

Details: Fun for all skill levels, Bowlero’s modern spin on bowling is the perfect way to spend quality time with the kids. Celebrate every strike, spare and yes, even gutter balls, with the most famous lanes in the game and a delicious menu of classic American eats.

Golden Goal Sports Complex

Location: 2650 Alkire St., Golden

Website: www.goldengoalsc.com/summersoccer-camps

Details: Golden Goal offers spring break camps and summer camps for all ages from under 5 to high school.

Camp Urbie at Urban Air Adventure Park

Location: 15400 E. Briarwood Circle, Aurora

Website: https://bit.ly/3IuCQOO

Details: Let ‘em Fly for a whole week of play, in-park activities, snacks and more. Camp Urbie’s Adventure Camp is the best way to beat the summer heat and play in the best indoor playground in town. The weeklong camp is open to kids 7 years and up.

Gold Medal Athletic Camp

Location: Castle Rock Recreation Center

Website: https://www.crgov.com

Details: Athletes will participate in small- and large-group instruction, drills and games or scrimmages. We welcome beginner athletes to learn how to use proper mechanics and fundamentals of the sport and intermediate or advanced athletes who want to continue to grow their motor skills and skill in the sport. For ages 7-12.

Tigar Gymnastics Camps

Location: 4860 Van Gordon St. Unit B, Wheat Ridge

Website: www.TigarGymnastics.com

Details: A variety of programs at a variety of ages is available at the gymnastics center, including ninja classes and programs for older ages.

RMF Soccer Camp

Location: Aurora Sports Park at 19300 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora

Website: https://rmfsoccercampsusa. com/soccer-camp-denver/

Details: From July 17 to July 21, this prorun soccer camp will come to Colorado. It’s run by experienced Spanish UEFA coaches, and goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Kids from 6 to 16 can sign up.

Aerial Cirque Over Denver

Location: 4605 Quebec St., Denver.

Website: https://aerialcirqueoverdenver.com/

Details: If your child is thinking of joining the circus, or just wants to bend, twist and soar through the air, this is the camp for them. Dates run from May 29 through August 14, and include morning and afternoon camps (9:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3 p.m.) for ages 6 to 16.

LET’S GET MUSICAL

Maestro Music Institute

Location: 6478 Ward Road, Arvada

Website: maestromusicinstitute. com/2023-instrumental-summer-camp

Details: Instrumental Summer Camp is back this year covering a myriad of ensemble opportunities. We will be offering Rock Band, Orchestra, Choir/Theater, Piano ensemble and composition. Summer campers will have the opportunity to learn new instruments in addition to honing their skills on their primary instrument. Students will work in large and small ensemble groups and perform a variety of music at the end of the week.

Kidzrock Rock Band Camp

Location: 2842 S. Broadway, Englewood

Website: www.musicallifedenver.com/ summercamp

Cost: $319

Details: Rock Band Summer Camp teaches children ages 4 to 7 how to play in a rock band. Campers learn to play drums, electric guitar, keyboard and sing. On the final day, campers perform a short (adorable) concert for parents and family. In addition to rock band time, students get to make music-related arts and crafts, create a fantasy band identity, and play outdoor games at the park next to the school. No prior musical experience is required. No investment in gear is required.

OVERNIGHT CAMPS

Avid 4 Adventure

Locations: Various spots

Website: https://avid4.com/summercamps

Details: For two weeks kids get to bask in nature, away from their parent, at either Camp Windy Peak near Bailey, or Camp Blue Sky near Evergreen. The kids sleep in cabins and build their skill sets in nature and with outdoor sport activities.

Cheley Colorado Camps

Location: Cheley Colorado Camps at 3960 Fish Creek Road, Estes Park.

Website: https://www.cheley.com/

Details: If your kid is 9 to 17, send them off to a 27-day overnight camp in Estes Park. Full term is June 13 to August 6, or chose a half term from June 13 to July 9, or July 11 to Aug. 6. Activities include horseback riding, water sports, art and plenty of outdoor adventure.

Camp Granite Lake

Locations: 11902 Camp Eden Road, Golden

Website: https://www.campgranitelake.com/

Details: Located in the mountains about an hour from Denver, the camp covers 135 acres including a private lake. It’s a co-ed camp for grades second to ninth. Choose from two sessions, either June 19 through July 8, or July 10 through July 29. There are also minicamp options for grades 1st through 4th, covering the week of July 31 or Aug. 7.

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 dbrobst@coloradocommunitymedia.com to get items in the print version of the paper. Items will appear in print on a space-available basis.

and auction: Parmalee Elementary, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, will host its annual carnival and auction from 4-8:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, at the school. For more information, visit parmalee.je copublicschools.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

“Chapter Two:” Evergreen Players will perform “Chapter Two” by Neil Simon March 10-26. Friday and Saturday are at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinee performances are at 2 p.m. Shows are at Evergreen Players Black Box eatre, 27886 Meadow Drive, Unit B, Evergreen. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.evergreenplayers.org or by calling 720-515-1528.

SATURDAY

be at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at Evergreen Lutheran Church, 5980 Highway 73. Steinway artist Stephanie Cheng will perform Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. For more information and tickets, visit evergreenchamberorch. org.

THURSDAY

Evergreen chamber mixer: e Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce will host a mixer from 5-7 p.m. ursday, March 9, at Restoration 1 of West Denver in Wheat Ridge. In conjunction the showroom will have an open house, where the community can meet designers and tour the showroom.

Clear Creek High School open house: Clear Creek High School will host a community barbecue and athletics/activities fair, a principal’s welcome, and building tours from 5-8:30 p.m. ursday, March 9, at the high school. e school will share information about career and community-connected experiences, outdoor learning, four-day school week, busing, elective programming, AP classes, no-cut sports and more.

FRIDAY

Parmalee Elementary carnival

“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”: Ovation West is performing the comedy “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” through March 12 at Center Stage in Evergreen. Rated PG-13. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $32 for adults and $28 for seniors, and may be purchased at ovationwest.org.

1-877-328-1512

Local art fair: Bear Cub Co ee & Pub will host a local art fair from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at the co ee shop on South Turkey Creek Road across from Tiny Town.

UPCOMING

Evergreen chamber March Madness Mixer: e Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce will host its March Madness Mixer from 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, March 17 at e Wild Game. For more information, visit evergreenchamber.com.

Art of the Egg: e 15th annual Art of the Egg decorating contest sponsored by Go Paint! is in full swing. Decorate your ceramic egg by March 19. Cost is $15, with a portion of the proceeds going to Resilience1220. Age groups are up to 8 years old, 9-13 and 14 and older. Voting will take place March 22-31, and winners will be noti ed April 1. First place receives $25, second place $20, third place $15.

Evergreen Chamber Orchestra

spring concert: Evergreen Chamber Orchestra’s spring concert will

Shadow Mountain Legacy: e Conifer Historical Society is sponsoring a program called e Shadow Mountain Legacy at 2 p.m. March 26 at the Little White Schoolhouse, 26951 Barkley Road in Conifer. Tickets are $10-$12 and may be purchased at ConiferHistoricalSociety. org/tickets.

e Kids Are Back art show: Shadow Mountain Gallery will again display artwork by local elementary school children. “ e Kids Are Back!” e display is in recognition of National Youth Art Month and includes artwork from six schools: Wilmot, Marshdale, King-Murphy, e Bergens and Parmalee. e show will run through March 26. Shadow Mountain Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in downtown Evergreen between Java Groove and Beau Jo’s.

Evergreen Audubon Explore More: Registration is now open for Evergreen Audubon’s Explore More after-school programs starting the last week of March at Marshdale and Wilmot elementary schools and Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen. ese programs are for

SEE HAPPENINGS, P19

kids who love being outdoors and learning about nature and science. For more information and to register, visit www.EvergreenAudubon. org and click on Events.

Snowshoe hike: Explore the beauty of Colorado’s winter wonderland on a guided snowshoe hike in Georgetown. Kimberly Knox of Georgetown Outdoor Discovery and Evergreen Audubon’s Emma Vasicek will lead the hike on April 1. For more information and to register, visit www.evergreenaudubon. org/events/snowshoe-hike-withgeorgetown-outdoor-discoveryjanuary-2023

Foothills Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show: Foothills Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show will be April 1-2 at Evergreen High School. e show, sponsored by Evergreen and Conifer Rotary, will be from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. ere is no entry fee, though bringing two nonperishable food items for Evergreen Christian Outreach is encouraged. Net proceeds are distributed as grants for charitable causes through the Evergreen and Conifer Rotary Foundations. For more information, visit foothillshomeshow.com.

DriveSafe scholarship: DriveSafe is o ering a scholarship for students who are graduating from high school, or attending college or trade school. To apply, students must ll out an application form and write an essay or create a video answering the question: “How has learning to drive helped you in ways you didn’t expect?” Entries must be submitted by April 2, and winners will be announced on May 1.

Free legal clinic: A free legal clinic for people with no attorney will be from 2 to 5 p.m. ursday, April 6. By telephone or video, volunteer attorneys will answer questions, help ll out forms, and explain the process and procedure for all areas of civil litigation. Pre-registration for individual 15-minute appointments is available by calling 303-235-5275 or visiting https://tinyurl.com/ ykzs2ej7.

Conifer chamber awards banquet: e Conifer Area Chamber of Commerce will host its awards banquet from 5-8 p.m. ursday, April 20, at Beaver Ranch. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit goconifer.com.

Rockies Springtime art show: Shadow Mountain Gallery will display artists’ renditions of springtime in a wide range of media through April 29. One-of-a-kind artwork will be priced for every budget. Shadow Mountain Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in downtown Evergreen between Java Groove and Beau Jo’s.

ONGOING

Mountain Area Democrats: Mountain Area Democrats meet the fourth Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. through April at United Methodist Church of Evergreen, 3757 Ponderosa Drive, Evergreen. For more information, email MountainAreaDems@gmail. com.

LGBTQ+ teen book club: Resilience1220 is o ering a LGBTQ+ teen book club that meets from 4-6 p.m. the fourth Monday at the Resilience1220 o ce next to the Buchanan Park Recreation Center. e group’s rst book is “Hell Followed With Us.” For more information and to register, visit R1220.org.

Hiwan Museum winter hours: Hiwan Museum has shortened winter hours for tours, open ursday and Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and weekends from noon to 4:30 p.m. Private tours of large groups may be accommodated when the museum is closed by calling Erica Duvic at Hiwan Museum at 720-4977653.

Community Bible Study: Several community Bible study groups are available — women (in person and online), co-ed young adults, school age, preschool & babies. is year’s study covers six books of the Bible: Philemon 1, 2, 3, John, Jude and Revelation. In-person classes are ursday morning at Rockland Community Church in Genesee, Tuesday night at Bergan Park Church in Evergreen and Wednesday morning at Conifer Community Church in Conifer. More information is available at cbsclass. org/evergreengolden.

ESA EverGREEN Re ll Station: EverGREEN Re ll Station (re ll your laundry detergent, lotions, soaps and more. We have many sustainable products available).  e Re ll Station is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 1-4 p.m. It is located upstairs in the Habitat Restore in Bergen Park, 1232 Bergen Parkway.

Support After Suicide Loss: Heartbeat and Resilience1220 o er Support After Suicide Loss from 5:30-7 p.m. the fourth ursday of the month for ages 14 and older. Join in-person or online. Suggest donation is $15. For location, visit R1220. org.

History Happy Hour: e Evergreen Mountain Area Historical Society will host a History Happy Hour from 4:30-6:30 p.m. the second Friday of each month at Hiwan Museum. Join us in a round table discussion on any and all aspects of history with topics driven by the attendees.

Sensitive Collection: Resilience1220 o ers a monthly workshop for highly sensitive people to help them live healthy and empowered lives from 3:30-4:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month via Zoom. Visit R1220.org for more information.

Caregiver support groups: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice o ers two monthly groups to provide emotional support services for caregivers helping ill, disabled or elderly

from 4-6 p.m. at 3081 Bergen Peak Road, Evergreen, and a virtual support group meets every rst Tuesday from 10 a.m.-noon via Zoom. Call 303-674-6400 to learn how to connect to the group virtual call. For more information visit mtevans.org/ services/emotional-support/.

Parkinson’s disease support group: A Parkinson’s disease support group meets the rst Friday of the month from 1-3 p.m. at Evergreen Christian Church, 27772 Iris Drive, Evergreen. For more information, email esears@parkinsonrockies.org.

Mountain Foothills Rotary meetings: Mountain Foothills Rotary meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays both in person at Mount Vernon Canyon Club at 24933 Club House Circle, Genesee, and via Zoom. Join the Zoom meeting at https://us02web. zoom.us/j/81389224272, meeting ID 813 8922 4272, phone 346-248-7799.

Beyond the Rainbow: Resilience1220 o ers Beyond the Rainbow, which is two support groups that meet from 7-8:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month. One is a safe group for those 12-20 and the other is group for parents and caregivers wanting support for raising an LGBTQ child. To RSVP, contact Lior Alon at lior@wisetree-

Meth remediation professionals could face more accountability with new senate bill

A new senate bill hopes to address illegal drug laboratories

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In light of public libraries across the state nding drug contamination in communal spaces, a woman from Evergreen wants people to know contamination could be lurking anywhere — even in homes — and that’s why she’s teaming up with State Sen. Lisa Cutter to introduce a bill that would hold remediators accountable.

In 2018, Kathi McCarty’s worst nightmare came true when she found the tenant she had been renting her beautiful mountain cabin to had been using it as a lab to cook methamphetamine. e following years of McCarty’s life would include legal and nancial struggles that would ultimately end in her selling the home, fully disclosed, for a low price.

Soon after selling, McCarty would watch the new owners go on to encapsulate the contamination inside the home after failing to remediate to state standard. en they would

sell it at an exorbitant price, undisclosed to the new buyer. McCarty went on to found Meth Toxins Awareness Alliance, a group that focuses on education, resources and legislation for meth contamination. She said helping others has given meaning to her misfortune.

“Why did this happen to me? And how can I take a really jacked up situation in my own life that literally cost me over half a million dollars — let’s not sugarcoat that part of it — but put it to some really good use,” McCarty said.

Meth Toxins Awareness Alliance aims to protect renters, property owners, buyers and their loved ones from meth contamination by providing education opportunities, support and work towards governmental change.

Some of that change is happening in the form of a bill that will be introduced to the Senate on March 9 to protect homeowners and renters from the potential history of illegal drug laboratories in their homes.  e bill, presented by Colorado State Sen. Lisa Cutter, will add to current laws about remediation. Currently, the department of public health and environment certi es people who assess, decontaminate or sample properties that once were sites of illegal drug laboratories.

can be removed from the database ve years after the property has been decontaminated.

ing toxins in our environment to the government and housing committee on March 9.

Kathi McCarty during remediation e orts of her Evergreen home.

PHOTO FROM METH TOXINS AWARENESS ALLIANCE

Steps toward Je co secondary school consolidations continue

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e closure of 16 Je erson County elementary schools in November was only phase one of the District’s consolidation plan.

Phase II of Regional Opportunities for riving Schools — the consolidation plan — will focus on secondary schools like K-8s and middle schools. e Board of Education

brie y discussed the plan on Feb. 24.

Currently, criteria for this second set of closures have not been released, and according to Chief of Strategy and Communications for the District Lisa Relou, they have not been decided on either. Part of the preparation for Phase II, she said, was releasing enrollment and other data on the District’s FCB Dashboard, as they did for the elementary schools.

e choice of elementary schools for consolidation was based generally on enrollment data and proximity to other schools, but the District said previously the criteria would be di erent for the secondary schools.

Relou presented enrollment data to the Board, pointing out that the District is keeping students it already has, even as enrollment declines evenly across all schools.

“As we’ve talked a lot about in this room, this work is a big puzzle, and we need to assess our middle

schools and k-8 schools within the context of our articulation areas, and honestly, their impact on one another,” Relou said in the meeting.

“And also long-term sustainability as we start to look at rejections.”

Looking towards the future, Relou said a boundary study was being planned that would look at current articulation areas — the area assigned to a speci c school — what

families want, and why they are making the school choices they are.

Board Member Mary Parker raised a concern on whether the boundary study would be nished before considerations of consolidations had to begin. Relou said certain areas can be prioritized in the study, but it will take awhile.

“I just want to make sure we’re super thoughtful,” Board President

Stephanie Schooley said, pointing to the boundary study. “We have cyclical patterns, in some articulation areas more than others, of leaning in without there being any intention of action that follows that, which is incredibly frustrating.”

According to Relou, there is currently no timeline for a vote or action on Phase II.

Melissa Jacobson (left), a parent from Kullerstrand Elementary, waits for the Je co Board of Education’s vote on whether to close 16 elementary schools. The Board voted unanimously in favor. PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

The District hasn’t decided on strict criteria, but are working on interim steps

Je co homelessness stakeholders agree on cause but not action steps

Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker, Je co Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp and other community members discussed homelessness in Je co

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e League of Women Voters of Je erson County and the Je erson Unitarian Church Community Action Network co-sponsored a virtual panel discussion on Feb. 28 to “explore what can be done in Je erson County to ease the plight of the unhoused.” is included the Mayor of Wheat Ridge Bud Starker and Jeffco Commissioner Tracy Kraft- arp along with various nonpro t, city and county representatives.

If there is anything that they all agreed on, it’s that everyone needs to work together. But opinions on how that translates into action di ered greatly, as do the consequences.

e current amount of people

experiencing various forms of homelessness — from vehicular and couchsur ng to unsheltered on the street — is always changing, but even this varied in the panel.

Mayor Bud Starker said the city believes there to be only 250 people homeless across the county, whereas the 2022 Point-in-Time count for Je co, a count of people who have used shelters and are experiencing unsheltered homelessness on the rst of January — considered an undercount by homeless activists as it’s done in winter, among other issues — shows there to be about 500.

A month-long count in August of 2019 showed there to be, in more detail, about 1,000 individuals experiencing some form of homelessness in Je erson County, with 93 in Wheat Ridge alone. Starker would not elaborate on where his stated 250 number came from besides not from the 2022 PIT count.

at 2019 count also showed that 20% of Je co’s homeless population were sleeping in their cars.

e Colorado Safe Parking Initiative, a nonpro t represented by Linda Barringer on the panel, is an e ort to make this particular form of homelessness safer and easier to escape by working with various businesses and churches across the metro area to use their parking lots at night.

Barringer said they found, across 13 “SafeLots” and 120 families, that 85% were newly homeless, and this was only serving 10% of the 2200 requests they’ve received in the past year. ere are four “SafeLots” in Je co, one recently piloted in Lakewood.

Diverse across these groups in working toward helping resolve homelessness is what that resolving actually looks like.

According to Starker, the needed action has two sides for Wheat Ridge: helping the unhoused directly and mitigating their visual e ect on the community.

“ ere’s the needs of the unhoused folks in our community, and how we address that population and help them become housed. And, we have the impacts their homelessness situation has on our community, which we receive a lot of complaints about,” he said.

Later he elaborated on “cleaning up” homelessness even as the city has no shelters, “the perception that it degradates some of public spaces — makes them dirtier and more chaotic,” and that the city is allocating more sta and resources for “cleaning and maintenance on our right of way.” is includes working with CDOT and RTD, he said, “to encourage (the unhoused) to keep their facilities cleaner and really stay up

with their obligations in our city.”

Kraft- arp’s perspective was the county being a “facilitator and funder,” acknowledging the county has no shelters itself, but “many temporary beds,” of which almost all are volunteer and nonpro t run. Until Lakewood’s recent emergency weather shelter opening of the Whitlock Recreation Center, there were no city-run shelters of any caliber either.

Another variation of resolving homelessness across the panel consists of choosing who to help. Evergreen Christian Outreach, or ECHO, has its own services and shelter beds. Program Director Tim Clancy elaborated in the discussion that ECHO does an interview to see if the people looking for shelter would be “successful” in the shelter, along with a criminal background check and sexual predator check.

e Severe Weather Shelter Network, the major emergency sheltering network for cold weather the county depends upon, also does background checks for violent o enses. Pastor Ben Hensley at the Lakewood United Methodist Church, the only participant in Lakewood’s CSPI pilot program, critiqued the Network for this requirement calling the background checks

FORUM

a barrier so high “it’s not really an e ective emergency response.”

Executive Director of Development at SWSN Lynn Ann Huizingh has told the Je co Transcript in the past that the background checks are meant to protect volunteers and guests from people with “violent o enses against other person in the last year.”

“We do not want to enable, we

want to empower,” Huizingh has said about their temperature cuto s, believing opening at any warmer temperatures would not “encourage people to pursue answers that would lead them o the street, and if they get too comfortable, they just don’t have any reason to try and pursue anything else.”

e panel, including Lakewood Homeless Navigator Matt Wallington, Clancy, Barringer and Douglas, did agree that the dominant reason for homelessness is lack of a ordable housing, with Douglas touting the county’s 15-Year Housing Plan.

“What was really critical last year was when we started to look at some solutions. We really realized there was a need for more plans,” Douglas said. “It’s really meant to be a place where we pull together all the plans…and put it together in a document that can really help all our policy-leaders and community stakeholders look at a roadmap over the next 15 years.”

e plan is still being developed with a panel of “community leaders,” though Douglas said that there were no people experiencing homelessness on that panel.

Ending with questions, Wallington responded to a question relating crime and mental health to homelessness by saying that only a third of those experiencing homelessness in Je co had any kind of mental illness, and any crimes committed were petty crimes like stealing clothes or food.

High police contact does not mean a higher crime rate either, he explained. ey are simply seen more. Barringer added that the “SafeLots” actually lowered crime in the area.

Je erson County homelessness stakeholders see una ordable housing as the main cause of homelessness in the county, such as for this encampment o the Colfax corridor.

Grocery, convenience stores uncork wine sales

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

As of March 1, it’s wine-o-clock.

As Coloradans browse the aisles of their local grocery and convenience stores in March, looking for the right loaf of bread or reasonably priced eggs, they will soon have a new option for soothing their in ationsqueezed shopping experience: wine.

at’s because voters in November approved a ballot initiative allowing wine to be sold in grocery and convenience stores. Proposition 125 narrowly passed with 50.6% of voters in favor.

Both grocery and convenience stores with a license to sell beer can begin selling wine March 1. at’s approximately 1,900 licensees as of this month, according to the Department of Revenue. ey’ll also be able to o er beer and wine tastings.

e Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, which represents small liquor retailers, opposed the measure and warns that its members could be crushed by the change.

“While many liquor stores will adapt and outsell grocery stores because of their selection, we foresee approximately a third of the 1,600 independent liquor stores across the state are in danger of losing their business,” said Chris Fine, executive director of the organization.

e measure also didn’t change any other existing alcohol-sales rules, such as the prohibition of sales between midnight and 8 a.m., and

no alcohol sales to anyone under 21.

Stores that plan to immediately add wine at all of their Colorado locations include Trader Joe’s, King Soopers and Safeway.

While Safeway con rmed they are preparing their shelves now, grocery

stores aren’t allowed to stock their stores with wine until March 1, a spokesperson said.

Two other alcohol-related ballot measures, Propositions 124 and 126, failed on the November ballot. is story is from e Colorado

Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

WORSHIP DIRECTORY

ASCENT CHURCH

“Real people pursuing a real God”

All are Welcome Sundays at 10am

In-person or Online www.ascentchurch.co

29823 Troutdale Scenic Drive, Evergreen

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 9:30AM or 11:00AM Sunday service.

Search Bergen Park Church on YouTube for Livestream service at 9:30am 31919 Rocky Village Dr. 303-674-5484 info@bergenparkchurch.org / www.BergenParkChurch.org

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH SERVICES

28244 Harebell Lane

Sunday Service & Sunday School 10am

Wednesday Evening ZOOM Meeting 7:30pm

Contact: clerk@christianscienceevergreen.com for ZOOM link Reading Room 4602 Pletner Lane, Unit 2E, Evergreen

OPEN TUE-SAT 12PM - 3PM

CHURCH OF THE CROSS

Please join us for Sunday worship at 28253 Meadow Drive, Evergreen or visit www.churchotc.com

8:30am Traditional Service

10:30am Contemporary Service

Communion is served every Sunday at both services. All are welcome!

Visit our website at www.churchotc.com for info on church activities. 28253 Meadow Drive, Evergreen • 303-674-4130 • o ce@churchotc.com

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)

CONIFER CHURCH OF CHRIST

“Doing Bible Things in Bible Ways”

11825 U.S. Hwy. 285, Conifer, CO 80433

Sun: 9:00a.m. Bible Study-10:00a.m. Worship; Wed: Bible Study 7:00p.m.

EVERGREEN CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)

27772 Iris Drive, Evergreen - 303-674-3413

www.EvergreenChristianChurch.org - eccdoc01@gmail.com

Sunday Worship 10:00 a.m., with communion every Sunday

We are an inclusive faith community and welcome you to join us in our new ministry journey.

DEER PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Pastor Joyce Snapp, Sunday Worship 10 AM

Located one mile west of Pine Junction just o Rt. 285 966 Rim Rock Road, Bailey (303) 838-6759

All are welcome to our open/inclusive congregation!

EVERGREEN LUTHERAN CHURCH

5980 Highway 73 + 303-674-4654

Rev. Terry Schjang

Join us for Virtual Worship on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EvergreenLutheranChurch

Sunday Worship uploaded by 10am. 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!

MOUNTAIN REVIVAL CHURCH

“Baptizing the Mountains in Jesus Name”

Sundays 11:00 am & Wednesdays 7:00 pm

Location: Aspen Park Community Center 26215 Sutton Road, Conifer, CO 80433

(Additional parking at the Park & Ride next to Big O Tires) 720-770-0380 Call, Text, or Just Drop In www.mountainrevival.org

PLATTE CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Located: 4954 County Road 64 in Bailey. O ce hours MWF 8am-1pm 303-838-4409, Worship & Children’s Church at 10am

Small group studies for all ages at 9am

Transitional Pastor: Mark Chadwick Youth Pastor: Jay Vonesh

Other activities: Youth groups, Men’s/Women’s ministries, Bible studies, VBS,

Wine started being sold in grocery stores on March 1. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE

1. FOOD & DRINK: Which U.S. city is known for its square pizzas with crunchy corners?

2. TELEVISION: Which character became a fugitive in the nal season of “ e O ce”?

3. GEOGRAPHY: Which of the Great Lakes lies entirely within the United States?

4. LITERATURE: Which famous novelist wrote his last book in crayon due to poor eyesight?

5. GAMES: What are the two most valuable letters in Scrabble?

6. MOVIES: Which movie series features a character named Ellen Ripley?

7. LANGUAGE: What is a “schwa”?

8. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which nation is credited for being the top beer-drinking country in the world?

9. ANATOMY: What is a common name for the axilla?

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What do you call an ant’s home?

Answers

1. Detroit.

2. Creed Bratton.

3. Lake Michigan.

4. James Joyce.

5. Q and Z (10 points each).

6. “Alien.”

7. Unstressed vowel represented by an upside-down “e.”

8. Czech Republic.

9. Armpit.

10. A nest or formicary.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

NOW HERE’S A TIP

* Among the many reuses for plastic newspaper bags: Put soiled diapers in before putting in a trash can. Use to pick up after your pet on a walk. Fill with grocery store plastic bags for storage. Keep a few to store wet swimsuits in after a trip to the beach or pool.

* Before removing a splinter, ice the area. Less fussing and a wooden splinter might absorb some liquid, causing it to swell enough to pop out a bit more.

* Recycling paper is good, but reusing before recycling is even better. Ask your child’s classroom teacher if he or she has a “both sides” policy for lined papers. Also, copy paper that’s printed on only one side can be quartered for quick scratch paper.

* Trying to spot roof damage but not quite sure you’re up for climbing a ladder? Before you get up on the roof, get out your binoculars. You’d be surprised how

much you can see from the ground, and you can do a cursory examination and then decide if anything needs a closer look.

* Cut kitchen sponges into smaller pieces. ey clean as well as a larger sponge, and you can dispose of the smaller pieces when they get yucky. -- O.C. in Michigan

* Need sliced mushrooms for your salad or recipe? ey are hard to cut, but you might have a perfect tool for doing the job already in your kitchen. If you have an egg slicer, get it out. It works very well for mushrooms, and it’s easier to use than trying to cut those slices yourself. -- J.R. in Utah

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Careers

Help Wanted CONSTRUCTION HELP

Carpenters, Tradesman, Handyman & Laborers to work in mini-modular shop in Dumont.

Laborers $15-18/hr. Semi-Skilled $20-$25/hr. Skilled $25-$30/hr. Flexible hours. Architectural Prefab Lab, email mcaistor@gmail.com or call Mike 303-567-0100

Front Desk Agent

The Comfort Suites Evergreen is looking for a Front Desk Agent to be a part of Our Team! Full-time and above average starting wage, $18 to $19 DOE. Saturday through Wednesday 2pm to 10pm. Please submit a resume and/or letter of interest to: information@goldenevergreenhotel. com or stop by to fill out an application— Experience is preferred but we will train the right person.

Help Wanted Green Seen

Property Maintenance

P/T maintenance person, exible hours. Duties include servicing P/U trucks & small repairs on P/U trucks, ie changing brakes, alternators etc. Servicing small equipment & cleaning carburetors on small equipment. Welding not a must but helpful. More jobs of di erent sorts if you want them.

720-840-7111

Clear Creek County is hiring with new higher pay rates! Apply at: 403 Argentine Street in Georgetown.

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RTD looking to lower fares, attract more riders

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

RTD is in the process of lowering and simplifying costs, with new, lower fares a possibility by the rst quarter of 2024 and if approved by the board.

It came out of their Fare Study and Equity Analysis the RTD Board reviewed and released to the public on Feb. 14

“...customers expressed a strong preference for simplifying the existing fare structure. e design was also modi ed to include lower Local fares in response to customer feedback and to align with equity goals,” a news release from RTD reads.

According to Brandon Figliolino, a spokesperson for RTD, the Board of Directors is looking at a plan to combine local and regional fares, and lower the airport fare. A threehour pass would cost $2.75, a day pass $5.50 a monthly pass $88 and the airport fare would be $10, under a modi ed version of that plan.

“In April, RTD sta will ask the Board to release the draft recommended fare structure, policies and programs and draft fare equity analysis to the public. roughout the month of May, members of the public will be able to attend fare

Legals

Metropolitan Districts

Public Notice

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL FOR THE BUFFALO CREEK WATER DISTRICT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Buffalo Creek Water District, Jefferson County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third (63rd) day before the election or thereafter there were not more candidates for Director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 2, 2023, is hereby cancelled.

The following candidates are declared elected:

Marsha Petry: Four-year term to 2027

William J. Reinhard: Four-year term to 2027 BUFFALO CREEK WATER DISTRICT

By: /s/ Micki L. Mills

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CC 1157

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

Publisher: Canyon Courier Public Notice

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL FOR THE EVERGREEN PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, Jefferson County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third (63rd) day before the election or thereafter there were not more candidates for Director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 2, 2023, is hereby cancelled.

The following candidates are declared elected:

Donald H. Rosenthal: Four-year term to 2027

Nina Armah: Four-year term to 2027

EVERGREEN PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT

By: /s/ Micki L. Mills

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. CC 1159

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

CANCELLATION

OF

study information sessions and provide comments on the proposal,” Figliolino wrote in an email.

It may be one way to get more riders. RTD saw an increase in ridership during its Zero Fare for Better Air period in August 2022, when services were free. According to a nal report on the program, overall ridership increased by 22% compared from July 2022 to August 2022, and average weekday daily ridership increased by 19.9% in August compared to July.

e report also acknowledges the increase can’t only be attributed to the free rides.

“...transit trends and data are in uenced by seasonal factors, such as vacations and the resumption of the school year, in addition to persisting pandemic impacts and large scheduled events.” the report reads.

State Representatives Jennifer Bacon and Stephanie Vigil and State Senator Faith Winter introduced a bill this year that will allow that same grant to be used for any month that a transit agency designates as its “ozone season.”

Additionally, even with higher costs of driving, data provided by RTD shows that gas prices do not change ridership.

Laurie Hu , a spokesperson for

CERTIFIED

ASPEN PARK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on February 28, 2023, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for Aspen Park Metropolitan District (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 2, 2023 is hereby cancelled.

The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:

Roxan Marie Rose: Until May 2025 Michael Tamblyn: Until May 2027

The following offices remain vacant: VACANT: Until May 2025 VACANT: Until May 2027

/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie

Designated Election Official

Contact Person for District: Heather L. Hartung, Esq. WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

(303) 858-1800

Legal Notice No. CC 1163

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023 Publisher: Canyon Courier Public Notice

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the RRC Metropolitan District No. 2, Jefferson County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third day before the election there were not more candidates for director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 2, 2023 is hereby canceled pursuant to Section 1-13.5-513, C.R.S.

The following candidates are declared elected:

Debra Hessler until the second regular election (May 4, 2027)

Alexander Ray until the second regular election (May 4, 2027) Jennifer Thornbloom until the second regular election (May 4, 2027)

/s/ CRAIG SORENSEN Designated Election Official for the RRC Metropolitan District No. 2 c/o McGeady Becher P.C. 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400

RTD, wrote in an email that many factors a ect ridership, such as seasonality, weather, service levels and the opening of new lines.

She noted an increase in ridership in 2008 coincided with higher gas prices. However, ridership remained the same in 2014 when gas prices fell.

“RTD has been unable to attribute

a direct correlation between gas prices and ridership (but) has seen just the opposite in some cases. On a longer-term basis, gas prices have risen but overall ridership for transit agencies has trended downward,” she wrote.

One strong correlation they found

SEE RTD, P32

Denver, CO 80203-1254

Phone: 303-592-4380

Legal Notice No. CC 1162

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

Publisher: Canyon Courier Public Notice

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL FOR THE EVERGREEN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Evergreen Fire Protection District, Jefferson and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third (63rd) day before the election or thereafter there were not more candidates for Director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 2, 2023, is hereby cancelled.

The following candidates are declared elected:

Evan Jeffries: Four-year term to 2027

Suzanne Campagna: Four-year term to 2027 EVERGREEN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

Designated Election Official Legal Notice No. CC 1158 First Publication: March 9, 2023 Last Publication: March 9, 2023 Publisher: Canyon Courier Public Notice

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL FOR THE BROOK FOREST WATER

The following candidates are declared elected:

Anthony Langowski: Four-Year Term

Steven Drucker: Four-Year Term

BROOK FOREST WATER DISTRICT

By:/s/ Nickie Holder

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. 1160

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF REGULAR ELECTION BY THE

DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the RRC Metropolitan District No. 1, Jefferson County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third day before the election there were not more candidates for director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 2, 2023 is hereby canceled pursuant to Section 1-13.5-513, C.R.S.

The following candidates are declared elected:

Debra Hessler until the second regular election (May 4, 2027)

Alexander Ray until the second regular election (May 4, 2027)

Jennifer Thornbloom until the second regular election (May 4, 2027)

DATED: February 28, 2023

/s/ LISA JACOBY

Designated Election Official for the RRC Metropolitan District No. 1 c/o McGeady Becher P.C. 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400 Denver, CO 80203-1254 Phone: 303-592-4380

Legal Notice No. CC 1161

First Publication: March 9, 2023

Last Publication: March 9, 2023

Publisher: Canyon Courier Public Notice

NOTICE OF INCLUSION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been filed with the Board of Directors of East Lakewood Sanitation District, in the City of Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado, a petition praying for the inclusion of certain lands into such District.

1.The name and address of the petitioner and a description of the property set forth in such petition are as follows:

Petition for Inclusion:

Petitioner: TEN SHERIDAN LLC, a Colorado limited liability company

Petitioner Address: 1719 N. Emerson Street, Denver, CO 80218

General Description of Property to be Included: A parcel of land located at 965 Sheridan Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80214, in the City of Lakewood, County of Jefferson, State of Colorado, consisting of approximately 2.11 acres, more or less. A full legal description of the property is provided in the Petition.

2.The prayer of the petition is that the above property be included in the boundaries of East Lakewood Sanitation District as described above and more specifically in the petition.

3. The area sought to be included into East Lakewood Sanitation District is located entirely within the City of Lakewood, Jefferson County,

and does not include property within any other county or within any other incorporated city, town, or city and county, and East Lakewood Sanitation District currently encompasses property in the City of Lakewood, Jefferson County, and therefore no notice of the proposed inclusion under Section 32-1-207(2), C.R.S., as amended, is required.

Accordingly, notice is hereby given to all interested persons to appear at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the District at 7:00 p.m., on March 15, 2023 at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Allison Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80226, and show cause in writing, if any they have, why such petition should not be granted. The failure of any person in the existing District to file a written objection shall be taken as an assent to the inclusion of the property described in this notice.

EAST LAKEWOOD SANITATION DISTRICT

By: /s/ Paul J. Thiele, President

Legal Notice No.CC1155

Last Publication: March 9, 2023 Publisher: Canyon Courier Storage Liens/Vehicle Titles Public Notice Notice of Sale

To be sold or otherwise disposed of after March 16, 2023. Unit 153 At Kings Valley Storage 30404 Kings Valley Drive Conifer, CO 80433

is employment rates: as unemployment rises, ridership goes down, and vice versa.

Getting more riders, and money

If people live near transit and it’s accessible, they’re more likely to take it. According to Brian Welch, RTD’s acting assistant general manager of planning, the pandemic disproportionately impacted the use of public transportation.

“If you look at air travel, vehicle miles traveled, freight, even I think ocean cruises, almost everybody has gotten back to where they were before the global pandemic. Public transportation remains one of the outliers, so we’re still feeling the effects of this disruption,” he said.

One of those reasons is due to teleworking. Not as many people are taking long trips to work. Even before the pandemic, increases in ridership weren’t proportional to increases in population.

“If we have all these people moving into the Denver Metro area, ostensibly we’ve got people moving in who don’t want to drive,” he said. “We don’t seem to be attracting those people as frequently as we’d like to.”

For public transportation to be attractive, people need incentives to take it.

Welch said expensive parking charges, congestion, safety and competitive travel times up the value. Even so, there are people who won’t do it — they love their car, Welch said.

“In North America, in the places where we have for 50, 75 years made it really attractive to drive, that makes transit tougher, to provide a value proposition and a good alternative for people,” he said.

To make transit an attractive option, it needs to be there and needs to be of quality, safe and frequent.

e price of transit is inelastic regarding incremental increases.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s free, because it still doesn’t help them (if it’s not of value),” he said.

However, for those on the margin, high fares play a role.

“If you could get to the airport cheaper by driving and parking than you could by taking one of our airport services, then yeah, the price is an issue,” Welch said.

Connecting the suburbs

Welch said that circumferential transit – public transportation options that circle a downtown area, connecting the outlying areas – has not worked well in the United States. Hub and spoke-type networks, from

the suburbs to downtown, attract people from concentration to concentration in the U.S.

“It generally takes you too long to get all the way to where you need to go,” he said.

He said it’s a real challenge for those living in suburbs trying to get to other suburbs, such as Westminster to Brighton or ornton to Lone Tree.

Most success for RTD has come from connecting Denver, the tech center and Boulder. Each contain services that attract people and virtually guarantee ridership: colleges, hospitals, o ce buildings and commercial centers.

ose inter-suburban connections may grow naturally if the suburbs continue to grow, b e ectively becoming hubs themselves, he said. But that does not answer the age-old question: how do we get people to ride transit?

RTD’s largest limitation is hiring employees, Welch said, and another will be funds. Welch said right now, RTD is in a good position with recent money coming from the federal government, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act.) In the future, it won’t be so smooth.

at’s because 20% of RTD’s operating budget comes from fares, which is typical for a transportation

agency. What’s not typical is the rest comes mostly from the federal government and sales tax – with no revenue coming from the state government.

In 2021, RTD’s total revenue and grants and contributions were $1.17 billion. Of that, about 7% came from operating revenues, about 64% from sales tax and about 26% from grant operating assistance.

RTD’s operating revenues also were cut in half from 2019 to 2021. In 2019, operating revenues came in at $160.9 million but were slashed to $82.5 million in 2020 and reduced again to $83.1 million in 2021.

State Senator Winter said RTD needs a more reliable source of funding moving into the future to continue the boost it received from 2022’sZero Fare for Better Air days promotion.

“We need to build on that success, continue that success, and make that success permanent,” Winter said.

To receive funding from municipalities and the state, Welch said RTD is working on showing people it’s worth it, with a lot of focus on safety and security.

“How can we be ready for them so that they instantly come back on transit and don’t start driving again?” Welch said.