Book is great summer read

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Highlands Ranch artist and writer Craig Marshall Smith has recently published a book called “Where is Mary Bergen?”

The book is set in Granby, Colorado, with a narrator/detective character named Frank Elgin, who reminds me of a writer I’ve encountered. Elgin lives with a little red dachshund named Roger ...

Next door lives a bestselling author named Peter Du Cane, who thinks most highly of himself, drinks a lot and is renting a house owned by one Laura Faircloth, who has gone off to check out a prince somewhere, a prince who discovered her via a book of nude photographs, taken by another local character, Dartmouth Powell ... And we’re only to page 17!

And I also read an account of an art class assigned to create a self-portrait ... very funny!

Castle” on July 17 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Southridge Recreation Center, 4800 McArthur Ranch Road, Highlands Ranch. Caterer Meg Anderson and Butler John Lake will share personal stories about entertaining VIPs and royalty at Cherokee Castle. ere will be a drawing for a copy of Meg’s cookbook, “Castle Entertaining from Ranch Hands to Royalty.” A $3 suggested donation at the door is requested. Register at thehrhs.org/ programs.

Vintage Theatre

Vintage eatre, 1468 Dayton Street, Auora, presents “In the Heights” by Lin Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes, directed by Jonathan Andujar, June 23 through July 30. Musical direction by Donna Debrecini. Added performances of “Driving Miss Daisy” July 6 at 7:30; July 8 at 2:30; July 14 at 7:30, July 15 at 7:30; July 16 at 7:30. See vintagetheatre.org or 303-856-7830.

Smith taught art at three different universities over a period of 30 years and paints abstract works.

Mary Bergen was a former student, who went home for Christmas and never returned, we learn.

Elgin is asked to find her ... He starts with checking a Du Cane book out from the library and taking it home to read to Roger.

The possibility of co-writing a book with Du Cane surfaces and is discarded ... and surfaces again, accompanied by entertaining chatter.

We meet another Granby resident named Mr. Friday ... he seems to be well-supplied with factoids of all sorts ... Christmas lights were invented in 1914 by a Denver man named D.D. Sturgeon. His son was ill and couldn’t come to see the family Christmas tree. Sturgeon painted some bulbs and strung them on an outside tree so the boy could see them from his bed, according to Friday, who liked to hang out at the local diner. Modeled on a longtime friend of Smith’s ...

Somehow, Mary Bergen’s name leads to a chapter about the famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his friend, Charlie McCarthy — and a session between Charlie McCarthy and the very funny comedian, W. C. Fields — and a dialogue between them ...

A trip on the Zephyr to Ottumwa, Iowa is another detective job, involving a search for one Nadine Wolfinger — and en route, he met Heidi Spottle ... “Everyone should take an overnight train ride.”

Back in Granby, days continue, with new encounters and characters.

Clever dialogue, quirky characters, pretty much perfect summer reading — no beach required — just a cool lemonade and a shady spot inside or out to settle in and let Smith entertain you.

“Where is Mary Bergen?” is a paperback and will tuck in a tote or suitcase handily.

Thu 7/06

Fox Royale @ SunSET summer concert series, Englewood CO @ 6:30pm SunSET summer concert series, Englewood

Trouble Bound: Rock The Mountain Concert Series @ 11:30am

Outlets at Castle Rock, 5050 Fac‐tory Shops Blvd #437, Castle Rock

Steve Everett: Earth Angel’s “Wingmen” @ 5pm

The Barn at Fo��eld, �pon purchase, Fo�‐�eld

Sun 7/09

Bring Me the Horizon @ 5:30pm

Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Greenwood Village

Tue 7/11

Gymnastics: Ninja: Mighty Ninja (34 yrs) July @ 3pm

Jul 11th - Aug 1st

Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

Union Gray @ 6:30pm

Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker

Sat 7/08

15U Tryout @ 5pm / $40

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

Wed 7/12

Metalachi @ 6pm

Studio@Mainstreet, 19604 Main‐street, Parker

Thu 7/13

Crestone Peak Ages 13-14 - 2023

League Session #4 @ 4pm / $325

Jul 13th - Aug 25th

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

The Jauntee @ 3pm

Breckenridge Brewery, 2920 Brewery Ln, Littleton

HRCA Highlands Point Circuit @ 5pm / $25-$30

2674 Pemberly Ave, Highlands Ranch

PIckleball - Denver Open @ 9am

Life Time - Centennial, 5000 E Dry Creek Rd, Centennial

UB40 @ 5pm

Philip S. Miller Park Amphitheater, 210 E Wolfensberger Rd, Castle Rock

Dear Marsha,: DM and her

Freaky Band Band at Talgate Tavern @ 4pm

Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker

Big Mountain @ 6pm

Philip S. Miller Park, 1375 W Plum Creek Pkwy, Castle Rock

Blanca Peak Ages 14+ -2023

League Session #4 @ 6pm / $325

Jul 13th - Aug 25th

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

Yeison Jimenez @ 9pm / $50-$80

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Yeison Jiménez @ 9pm

Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora

Tabor Opera House e Tabor Opera House in Leadville was awarded $250,000 toward ongoing rehabilitation work. It will fund rehabilitation of the street entrance and problems on the western side of the building.

Miners Alley

Mark the calendar: Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden, presents “Avenue Q” Aug. 11-Sept. 17. ursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 303-935-3044, minersalley.com.

Valkarie Gallery

Michelle Lamb and Claudia Roulier present a joint exhibit from June

28-July 23 at Valkarie Gallery, 445 S. Saulsbury St., Lakewood, “Visions from Nature.” Opening reception July 1: 5-8:30 p.m. First Friday, July 7, 4-8:30 p.m. See valkarie neart.com or 720-220-7587.

ROX Arts Gallery

ROX Arts Gallery at Aspen Grove, 7301 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, is moving to Unit 222, next to See’s Candies. Opening July 1. with a reception July 14 or 15 (or maybe both.) Look for banners created at ROX Arts by kids on light posts at Aspen Grove. See roxartsgallery.com or 720-7245730.

Curtis Center e 19th annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition continues at Curtis Center for the Arts through July 1. Open Mondays through Saturdays. Free admission. See greenwoodvillage.com/curtis or 303-797-1779.

Tabor Opera House e Tabor Opera House in Leadville was awarded $250,000 toward ongoing rehabilitation work. It will fund rehabilitation of the street entrance and problems on the western side of the building.

Miners Alley

Mark the calendar: Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden, presents “Avenue Q” Aug. 11-Sept. 17. ursday, Friday,

Help Wanted

Visa Technology & Operations LLC

Has openings for: Network Support Engineer, IaaS (multiple openings) (REF60486K) in Highlands Ranch, CO. Job duties include: Plan, design, document, implement, and support network connections for commercial customers. Support WAN connections and determine circuit capacity requirements for the Visa Commercial client networks.

“The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $94,700.00 USD to $146,700.00

USD.; Sr. Cybersecurity Engineer (multiple openings) (REF60945H) in Highlands Ranch, Colorado to: Design, implement, and optimize Web, API and Mobile backend applications across Visa. Engage in the initial requirements definition, including analysis of threats and risks and alignment with Visa security, Engineering, IT and Architecture standards. The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $139,984.00 USD to $190,400.00

USD.; Systems Engineer - Sr. Consultant level (multiple openings) (REF59993N) in Highlands Ranch, CO. Job duties include: Design and develop new applications, application code and fix existing code on Mainframe z/OS using Cobol/JCL/ CICS/DB2. Adapt new technologies like Big Data (Hadoop, Druid) and Streaming (Kafka) to develop new capabilities and integrate Mainframe applications. The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $139,984.00 USD to $ 193,500.00

USD. Positions report to the Visa Highlands Ranch, Colorado office and may allow for partial telecommuting. Salaries may vary depending on jobrelated factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, positions may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position is eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Program, FSH/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time off and Wellness Programs.”

Qualified applicants should apply by emailing resume to careersus@visa. com. Must reference job code.

Help Wanted

Director, Product - Asset Management and Fulfillment (NBCUniversal Media, LLC; Centennial, CO). Manage Asset Management & Fulfillment Chain product org comprised of Mgrs, Product Mgrs, & Product Specialists spanning a diverse product portfolio. Position is fully remote & may be performed from anywhere in U.S. Salary range is $220,000/ yr - $290,000/yr., depending on qualifications. Send resume to: Elsbeth Velasco-Fulgencio at elsbeth. velasco@ nbcuni.com, & indicate you are applying for Director, Product –Asset Management and Fulfillment (CAC23LN) opening. NBCU is an EOE.

SRE Engineer (FT; Multiple Openings)

Job Location: Centennial, CO

Requirements: MS or equiv. in CE, Commun. Eng., EE, etc. + 2 yrs. exp. or BS + 5 yrs. exp. req’d. Exp. w/ UCaaS, VoIP, Python, AWS, GCP, Hashicorp Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, Bash, Powershell, Linux, Jenkins, GitLab & CI/CD req’d.

Salary: $121K - $135K/yr

Mail Resume: RingCentral, Inc.

Attn: HR Dept. 20 Davis Drive Belmont, CA 94002

System Site Reliability Engineer (FT; Multiple Openings)

Job Location: Centennial, CO

Requirements: BS or equiv. in EE, IT, etc. +3 yrs. exp. req’d. Exp. w/ UCaaS, Python, Bash, Linux OS, Jenkins, GitLab, CI/CD & VoIP req’d.

Salary: $115K/yr

Mail Resume: RingCentral, Inc.

Attn: HR Dept. 20 Davis Drive Belmont, CA 94002

Help Wanted

Visa U.S.A. Inc., a Visa Inc. company, currently needs a Sr. Manager (multiple openings) (REF60897V) in Highlands Ranch, CO. Job duties include: Design and develop browser-based middle tier and front –end applications for the prepaid suite of products using Visual Studio.NET. Work with senior application development staff and assist with the design and development of complex SQL queries and stored procedures, performing unit and integration testing on newly developed components and assisting with troubleshooting and resolving incidents during the software development lifecycle. Position reports to Visa Highlands Ranch, CO office and may allow for partial telecommuting. The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $139,984.00 USD to $191,400.00 USD per year. Salary may vary depending on jobrelated factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position is eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Program, FSH/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time off and Wellness Programs. Qualified applicants should apply by emailing resume to careersus@ visa.com. Must reference job code: REF60897V.