LIBRARY

library esta complete with dancers, food, crafts and more.

According to the American Library Association, the holiday commonly referred to as Día emphasizes the importance of literacy for kids of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Clear Creek County Library District Program Director Holly Grant said the holiday is a great time to invite people into the library to connect.

“It’s a great way to get people into the library and see the library as a welcoming and warm place where they can have all kinds of resources and fun. It’s just a great way to communicate and connect with the community,” Grant said.

e celebration featured traditional dance performances from the Fiesta Colorado dance troupe, a taco bar donated by TommyKnockers Brewery, warm churros, crafts, piñatas, a photobooth and spanish storytime.

Grant explained that the library is much more than a quiet place to read; it’s also a community gathering place.

“It’s a good place for research and work and study, but it’s also a great place to meet people. And sometimes party like today,” Grant said.

Leslie Ortiz was dancing with the Fiesta Colorado dance troupe. Her troupe brought in multiple younger dancers for the celebration, but Ortiz was one of the older ones, despite only being 10 years old. She’s been dancing for two years.

Ortiz and her troupe were dancing in a traditional folklórico style, which is a combination of ballet techniques and folk dances from Mexico. One of the main hallmarks of the dance style is the big, billowy skirts. his closing airway and respiratory stress,” Church recalled. e EMS team performed a rapid sequence intubation, a procedure that is new for them. e procedure involves two medications given right after each other. One puts the patient to sleep. e other relaxes musculature to enable e cient and e ective intubation.

“ e skirt is meant to be big. So that way when you perform, it ares. And then the sleeve is when you do like a type of salsa dance. And it ares as well,” Ortiz explained.

Ortiz thought it was special that she got to perform for other kids for the Día celebration, and hoped it could instill con dence in others.

“I think it’s cool, because I feel like they could do whatever they want. So if they wanted to perform, then they could perform. If they want to sing, then they can sing,” she said.

Church had performed this procedure before as a ight paramedic in

Washington D.C. is was the rst time Clear Creek EMS did it. It saved them from having to do a more invasive and risky procedure, Church said.

“We would have continued to give him (epinephrine) in hopes that it would work,” Church said. “But worst case scenario is his throat continues to close up and then we have to do what’s called a crike, which is when we cut a hole in his throat and stick a tube in the hole. at’s not good for him.”

When Itrich walked into Station 1A to thank the rst responders who saved his life, he was overcome with emotion. e de nition of a hero is someone that gives you your life and lets you continue on,” Itrich said.

“What is the de nition of a hero?

Itrich spent days on life support in the hospital. e day he got out, he was able to hold his grandchild.

Itrich showed o his new EPI Pen, which he keeps with him, per his doctor’s orders.

“ e earlier that you get the EPI on board, the better o you’re going to be,” Church said in regards to ghting severe allergic reactions.

Itrich believes his reaction was from touching his face after touch- ing the hand of someone who was in contact with shell sh.

Church and the other members of Clear Creek EMS were happy to see Itrich on his feet, and happy to hear that they made a di erence. Church said it’s not necessarily something they hear very much.

“It’s really nice and refreshing,” Church said. “And it’s very encouraging, I think, especially because the things he remembers was, of course, our medical care, but also that we were kind to him and there for him and that’s very encouraging to let people know that we can do both.”

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