Choir concert at CCHS

BLUMENSTEIN

Paul David “Dave” Blumenstein, Jr.

On April 8, 2023 , Paul David “Dave” Blumenstein, Jr. died at home of a heart attack at the age of 73. A resident of Conifer for 48 years, he and his wife, Janet, were very involved in various school, church and community activities in both Evergreen and Conifer. e Celebration of Life service and reception will be July 1, 2023 at 11:00 am at Evergreen Lutheran Church, 5980 Hwy 73. Full obituary can be found at horancares.com.

Staff Report

Ending the year on a great note, the Clear Creek High School and Middle School choirs, led by choir teacher Julia Wirth, performed their spring concert May 30 in the high school theater.

More than 25 students took the stage to entertain family and friends with ve students debuting their rst solos. For seniors Zack Myers, Maya Sproul and Samantha Zebroski, it was the last choir concert of their high school career. ity court for badminton, basketball, volleyball and more. All activities are free. For more information, call Cheryl Holmberg at 303-519-0144.

Zebroski was presented with the National School Choral Award. She has participated in choir all four years of high school and had a leading role in the spring musical “Cinderella.” Zebroski received the award for her outstanding leadership in the choir department.

Juniors Indiana Crawford and Zoey Zebroski and senior Mya Sproul, who were part of the school’s Madrigal Choir, perform “Fly” by Dye, Marlow and Vartanyan.

PAWS Park Spruce Up

Day: Friends of Clear Creek’s PAWS (Partners for Access to the Woods) Park Spruce Up Day will be from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, June 17, to spruce up this landmark. Meet at PAWS Park, which is a quarter mile west of Empire on Highway 40.

Enduro Mountain Bike Event: Team Evergreen will host an Enduro Mountain Bike event on May 31, June 21, 28 and July 5 at Floyd Hill Open Space. For more information, visit www.teamevergreen.org/ oyduro.

Summer Fun at the Rock House: e Clear Creek Rock House is o ering Summer Fun at the Rock House for sixth through 12th graders from 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays starting June 21. Dinner is provided. Some of the activities include paddle boarding, boating and use of our full activ-

Slacker Half Marathon: e Slacker Half Marathon, Relay and 4-Mile Races will be June 24 starting at Loveland Ski Area and ending in downtown Georgetown. e course includes dirt and paved roads, leading participants through beautiful wetlands, natural waterfalls, stunning views of the Continental Divide and historic mining remnants. Register at slackerhalfmarathon.com.

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Search-and-rescue dogs embody the mail carrier motto: “Neither snow, nor rain nor gloom of night” will keep these trusty canines from their appointed rounds — searching for people or items with single-minded purpose.

For the dogs and their trainers who are part of the Colorado branch of SARDUS — Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States — training is a weekly, if not daily, endeavor to prepare dogs to certify in an area of search and rescue or to keep the dog’s skills sharp after certi cation.

“ e training continues for life,” said Cathy Bryarly, a retired Boulder sheri ’s deputy who trains search-and-rescue dogs. “ is has to be part of your life. It goes way beyond a hobby, or it’s not going to work. It’s a calling.”

SARDUS members agree that it’s a labor a love based in their strong resolve to help others. Not only do the dogs and their handlers train multiple times a week, enlisting family and friends to hide, so the dogs have someone to search for, but handlers also attend seminars on a variety of topics and work together by laying trails for others to follow.

Trainers are always learning, so they can improve their canines’ ability to help in emergency situations.

Search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers are not paid; in fact, handlers spend a lot on the dogs, the equipment, the training and more. e goal is to be certi ed to go on missions, the term for helping law enforcement nd people, bodies or objects needed in an investigation.

Call the people trainers or handlers, but more importantly, they’re dog lovers who want to work as a team with their pets to help others.

The humility of training e trainers say it simply: Training their canines is humbling.

“Our dogs don’t make the mistakes,” Anjie Julseth-Crosby of Morrison said. “We do. ere’s so much to remember. e training is about me trying to understand what (the dogs) are saying. e human fails, not the dog.”

In fact, Julseth-Crosby, who started training her bloodhounds two years ago, has compiled a 19-page document called “ ings I wish I knew two years ago.”

Training involves having a dog follow a scent for several miles, helping the dog return to the SEE DOGS, P11